Dragon's Hope
by DancinOnHeaven'sDoorstep
Summary: On that fiery night so long ago, mother and son were taken together in the claws of a dragon. Sixteen years later, a revenge-driven Hiccup is trying desperately to save the dragons from a sinister alliance, but can one little dragon and one headstrong viking girl save HIM from a tragic past they themselves helped create? And what of the force that lurks in the dark...
1. Part 1 - The End of What We Know

_**Waning:**__** This fic contains spoilers for the second movie, so I would not suggest continuing if you have not seen it. Also I've seen the movies, but I have not read the books nor seen most of the series. That being said, don't be suspired if I include something random from the tv series and don't include something else.**_

_**Oh, almost forgot to say that Toothless is going to be introduced into the story a little later on, so don't freak out when he isn't here right away. Also this will be a little bit of a dark fic, so character death haters be warned.**_

_**Please do tell me if you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer**__**: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or anything within its franchise. And I do not wish I did, because if I owned it, it wouldn't be the same movie we all know and love.**_

Dragon's Hope, Part 1

Chapter 1:

The End of what We Know

-o0o-

"Hiccup, dear, it's time to get out of bed."

I moaned, turning over in my recently-interrupted slumber, waving the woman away with a groggy flap of my hand. "Five minutes, mom," I muttered, barely registering her presence. "'Sup late flying."

Snuggling deeper into my blanket, I tried to drift back into sleep, but sleep can be hard-coming when your mother is determined to spare you the mercy.

"Hiccup, ya need to get up. Pease now, Hiccup. Get up."

"Not now," I groaned, hugging my pillow over my head. Why choose today to try and wake me up? Mom knew I was out late last night dealing with that rouge nightmare. Somehow the dragon had managed to use the natural oils pools along the north islands to his advantage, making his fire-coat one of the hottest and brightest I had ever seen. Yet that little stunt was more deadly than the nightmare had anticipated, and it had nearly taken Grayheart and me until dawn to put out a fire that neither water nor snow could easily extinguish.

"Hiccup!"

The panicked yell snapped me from my stupor, echoing with a strange, far-away quality. Opening my eyes wide, I jerked upright, all thoughts of sleep forgotten. The air was thick and gray, yet it was not smoke, nor any kind of mist that I could tell. It was as if the sun had vanished, replaced by a dawn so gray and hopeless that it felt like I had slept straight into the netherworld.

"M-mom? Mom! Where are you?" I tried hurriedly to get out of my hammock, but my feet became tangled in blankets, and I plummeted to the floor with a thud. Everything was blurred and disorganized, swimming before me as if I were underwater.

A scream sounded throughout the cave, making my heart freeze up in my chest. It was the most painful thing I had ever felt – hearing that sound – and for a single moment the only thing I could do was lie there in horror. The world shifted from a dismal gray to a blood red at the cry, and my blood hammered in my ears like war-drums.

"Mom! Grayheart, help me!" I called, but no one responded. It was as if I were alone.

I stumbled out the door and into the room that doubled as our living room and kitchen. Where was she?! I looked around desperately, but my vision was growing redder and darker – everything a nearly unrecognizable blur.

"I-I can't see..." I said desperately, pleading to whatever gods would listen. "Where are you?!"

"Hiccup…"

This time it wasn't a yell, but more a horrified whisper. I turned slowly, dreading what I might see. The dark silhouette of a woman stood near the entrance to the cave, looking out into darkness – hands covering her mouth. "…Mom?" I asked, walking toward her cautiously. "…What's wrong?"

She turned to look at me, and somehow I was able to see her face with chilling clarity. "Hiccup… Hiccup, I'm so sorry…" she whispered, her voice breaking, tears marring her beautiful features. "I didn't…"

Something beneath the cave floor rumbled. Something huge and very, very much alive. It sounded like a roar, yet no dragon I knew made a sound like that.

Suddenly a shadow passed over the cave entrance, and I could do nothing but freeze and watch in horror.

Whatever the monster could be, it was not a dragon.

Claws longer then my arm reached in through the hole, ripping away at the sides of the entrance. My mother turned slowly, shaking like a leaf as she saw the beast trying to tear our home apart. "Mom!" I screamed, sprinting as fast as I could toward her. The earth all around rumbled, making the red mist that blurred everything tremble.

Then I saw its head, and though I my vision was blurred and distorted, no words could possibly describe the horror I saw. It was a terrible, black mass, with red eyes devoid of mercy or remorse. It roared, immense maw open before my mother, and I was flung back. "Mom!" I screamed again, reaching out to her, begging – pleading. _Stop! Oh gods, please stop!_

The monster filled its massive lungs, and then everything – my entire world – was encased in a torrent of fire.

_NO!_

-o0o-

THUD.

I opened my eyes, squinting when the bright mourning light forced its way into my skull. It took several moments, but finally I was able to adjust to the brightness, and I looked around. I was on the bedroom's cave floor instead of my hammock, blankets half twisted around me. The sounds of dragons roaring and playing reached my ears, making me relax.

Everything was normal, then.

_Well, almost everything,_ I thought, wondering where in the world Grayheart could be. Just as I was about to try untangling myself, the dragon in question stuck her head through the large hole in the roof that I had dubbed as my window. Birds and other pests didn't dare to come within a mile of this place, so I hardly had to worry about those. The only thing that came through that way was Grayheart, and perhaps, with her permission, other dragons.

Grayheart was a typhoomerang, meaning her head and neck were the only things able to fit through the small entrance. That said, her neck was long enough so as to seem as if the entire dragon were in my room, and she didn't hesitate to use that ability now – looping her neck around and glaring down at me with a stern eye.

"Oh, hey, girl," I said, blinking up at the dragon. Despite her name, Grayheart was more purple then gray, but I liked the identity better than Purpleheart.

She snorted, blowing smoke in my face. "Hey!" I coughed, fanning the air. "What was that for?"

She gave me a look like, "take a guess."

I glanced around, remembering that I was lying on the cold floor. "Oh, yeah," I said, frowning. "I think I had a nightmare, but I can't seem to remember what is was about…"

Strange, I could have sworn it was there just a minute ago. _Ah well, nothing to do about it now._ Yet still, I was unable to shake the feeling off. It was like a lingering…despair, perhaps, though I hadn't the slightest idea about what.

My feet completely tangled in bed-sheets, I grabbed onto one of Grayheart's horns and she set me on a stone slab so that it would be easier to unravel myself. _Man, I must have tossed around a lot last night to get this wrapped up,_ I thought, pulling at the blankets. My boots still remained on my feet, testimony to just how tired I had been the previous night.

"Hiccup!" my mother called from her place in the kitchen. "Time to get out of bed, ya sleepyhead!"

"Already on it!" I called back, standing up. Suddenly my stomach growled, and I grinned sheepishly at Grayheart. The dragon looked as if she wanted to blow smoke at me a second time, giving me her mildly exasperated look. "Guess it's been a while since I ate," I said. "You're probably hungry too, huh girl?"

Grayheart snorted in my face again. Ok, great. The day had just started and already I smelled like smoke. "Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the ice this morning," I huffed. At least I had the foresight to hold my breath this time. "You didn't _have_ to wait for me to get up."

The dragon just glared at me, then snaked her head back out of the cave and climbed down to the dragon shelf. Despite saying that, I knew Grayheart would never leave in the middle of night when I was having a nightmare. She was just that kind of dragon.

Yawning expansively and stretching, I wandering out of my room and into the next where my mother was sharpening a knife. "Saved ya some breakfast," she said, gesturing at a plate of something I assumed to be fish on a wooden slab.

"Um," I said, eyeing the so called "breakfast". "Yeah, you know, I promised Grayheart that we could go fishing together this morning, so…yeah. I'm just gunna eat out."

"Oh, it's far past morning, dear," Valka said, examining the knife. "Nearly noon now, I imagine."

"Really?" I stepped onto the dragon shelf, gazing out at the hordes of dragons flying through the air, swimming, or playing with one another on the nesting shelves. A mob of colors greeted my eyes, making me feel awed and alive. The sun was just peaking over one of the ice walls, flooding half the cavern in intense light. Grayheart was curled up on the ledge, pretending to be asleep, but I knew she was watching me with her other senses.

Quickly I ran inside, grabbed my pack, then sprinted back out.

"Ready to go?" I asked her, and immediately she opened her eyes and uncurled – her head towering above me on a neck that stretched toward the sky. I took a moment to wonder at her, admiring just how _beautiful_ the large dragon was. Wings nearly twice the size of my home stretched out, blotting out the colorful view behind her. "Good enough for me," I said, smiling and climbing onto her back. "Mom! We're going now!"

Valka walked out onto the ledge and tossed me something. It was my dragon mask. "Take this with ya, dear. Just in case."

I caught the mask, looking at its slim eyeholes and the two spiraling, twisted horns at the top. The cover was painted with streaks of gray and purple, matching my dragon's scales. "It's just a fishing trip," I protested. "Do I really need this?"

"Just in case," she repeated, leaving little room to ague.

I sighed and looped it around my neck, letting the mask rest against my back. "We're off then."

"Come back soon, alright? I don't want ya home a week later, claiming ya lost track of time. Nearly gave me a heart attack on that last little escapade of yers."

"I'll be back," I said, grinning toothily at her. "Probably."

Then Grayheart stepped off the ledge and we fell, though it didn't last long. It only took a moment before the air caught the dragon's massive wings and we soared upward with a jerk. My breath caught like it did every time Grayheart took to the sky, and my heart leaped within me. We soared upward though groups of dragons, flying around and over the Great Alpha, who was lounging in his pool like he always was.

Soon we were free of the ice cavern and soared into bright, open sky. "Woohoo!" I called – fists in the air. Grayheart let out a roar of delight and freedom. Normally typhoomerangs didn't live permanently in the Alpha's nest because of their massive wingspan and love for soaring – nearly impossible to do the large cavern – but Grayheart was a rare exception. After saving me from falling off Cloudjumper's back when I was four, she had made her home under the Bewilderbeast's rule along with the rest of us. That was twelve years ago now, and Grayheart had hardly left my side since.

Hunger almost forgotten, we sailed through the sky for nearly an hour, mesmerized by the feeling of freedom. Passing over small islands and endless ocean, it wasn't until we found a huge school of fish did we remember what we were supposed to be doing.

Grinning with excitement, I carefully crawled up Grayheart's neck and sat down directly behind her huge horns. Sitting on her shoulders was good for long flights, but everything was much more fun from her vantage-point. Plus, you know, it was easier to hold on.

Grayheart flapped three times, then she folded her wings into a cone and dived. "Yeah!" I called as the great dragon began to spin, but my voice was ripped away as I held on with everything I had. Gripping with my legs, I held her horns and tried not to be flung off by the force of her rotations. Suddenly, we crashed into the ocean, but it wasn't until her revolutions slowed did the water hit me in a rush. Flying through the ocean at top speed, Grayheart angled upward, and, in a great _wush_, we broke the surface, flinging a whole group of fish into the air.

Laughing, I held on while Grayheart snatched a mouthful of food as they fell floppily back to the sea. I hugged her neck, content to wait to eat until my dragon was full.

Hours later, we found ourselves sitting on a great outcropping of rock as we watch birds and clouds pass below us. We both lounged in the sun, soaking in the early autumn sunlight with comfortably full stomachs. I was leaning back against the rock, letting my legs dangle over the ocean so far below. Grayheart lay above me, stretched out over the entire top of the outcropping. Her head rested atop one spread-out wing as she dozed.

"Hey Grayheart," I said, gazing out over the horizon. "How long do you think this is going to last?" The dragon cracked open an eye and looked at me. It was hard to read the emotions on her face when she didn't want you to. "I mean," I continued, "it feels like the trappers are getting closer each week, and… well, you know what I mean, don't you girl?"

Grayheart snorted, as if amused. "Hey! Don't make fun of me!" I swatted playfully at her wing. "But yeah, I guess I'm being silly. Just a little."

I could have sworn the dragon rolled her eyes, but it must have been my imagination. With a contented sigh, I leaned back against the rock and closed my eyes. Perhaps it was just my own paranoia. Whatever the feeling, it seemed pretty impractical now.

-o0o-

I must have fallen asleep, for the next thing I knew Grayheart was growling me awake. I cracked open an eye, noticing that the shadow of our rock outcropping had become elongated over the water. The sun would be setting in only a matter of hours.

"What is it, girl?" I asked sleepily. Grayheart was awake and alert, her long neck stretched out above me. Rubbing my eyes, I looked toward the direction the dragon was focused on – tense and on alarm. Her large wing blocked my view, so carefully I crawled over it until I could look out over the vast ocean.

What I saw made me wish we had never left the Alpha's nest.

"We need to go, Grayheart!" I said, panic fluttering in my chest. "Now!"

The dragon snorted in agreement, and once I was situated between her shoulder-blades she was gone, jettisoning off the outcropping with startling speed. Typhoomerangs may have had large wings for soaring, but they could be downright _fast_ when they wanted to be.

"Hurry!" I called, knowing that is was unnecessary. Already Grayheart's speed was so great that I was having trouble holding on as we sped toward the great column of pitch-black smoke spiraling from our home.

"Oh, Thor," I muttered to no one in particular. "Oh please don't let it _them_. Oh please…"

-o0o-

Astrid Hofferson was not a girl easily impressed.

If, in fact, she looked back upon her life - as she was doing now – she would find that very little had indeed impressed her. Snotlout certainly didn't, with his stupid antics and childish fantasies. Neither did any of the other members of her dragon slaying class, though Fishlegs sometimes drew close when it came to his intellect.

The last thing that had truly surprised her was the news of the Hairy Hooligans defeat against the Red Death, nearly two and a half years prior. At the time, having just started dragon training, she was of the option that nothing could stop their tribe, being one of the best groups of dragon slayers around. But when they returned – numbers dwindling in the teens and all nearly beaten to death –the reality of their weakness had hit her like a hammer.

That was also the time she found out her parents were not amongst the survivors.

After that day she had thrown everything into training, determined to become the best dragon fighter of their age. She came out first in her class, and when Stoic was forced to accept the offered help from one Drago Bludvist, she had become one of his top picked fighters, and even helped in the defeat of the Red Death.

No, Astrid Hofferson was not a girl easily impressed, though standing here, atop one of Drago Bludvist's great iron ships and watching two of the largest dragons she had even seen fight like battering rams, she thought she might have to revise that statement.

"Whoa…" said Ruffnut, coming to stand at her side. They were both dressed for battle – knives and other weaponry hanging at their belts. "Those are two really big freaking dragons."

For once Astrid was inclined to agree with the female twin. "I know," she said, clenching her axe in determination. "And once the Alpha is dead,_ then_ we strike."

"Yeah." Ruffnut grinned savagely and punched her fist into an open palm. "Then all our dragon problems will be over. _Forever_."

-o0o-

_**Tell me if you think I should continue! Thanks for reading!**_


	2. Part 1 - Battle at Hel's Hall

Dragon's Hope, Part 1

Chapter 2:

Battle at Hel's Hall

-o0o-

What Grayheart and I found when we reached the battle was beyond anything I had imagined.

The smoke obviously signaled something dire, I knew, for if it was simply a forest fire then the dragons – or even the Alpha himself – would have extinguished it before the smoke got high enough to see. Before we reached the island I'd thought that maybe the trappers had finally arrived, bringing with them canons and their other exploding weapons. And if that were true, then yes, the situation would indeed be dire, yet nothing the Alpha couldn't handle.

But not this. Not armored dragons on leashes, all in formations and ready to attack. Not tens of iron ships, banked with an army of Vikings. And _not_ another, younger Alpha, one with bloodlust in his eyes and under the command of _humans_.

It was almost too much to take in.

We circled, trying to make sense of the chaos beneath us. Dragons faced each other near the ground; fire vs fire and iron. The smoke was coming from the south side of the island, though no one seemed to have noticed it yet, nor did it appear all that important compared to everything else going on. The two alphas circled each other nearer to the ice cavern, and both armies were giving them plenty of space.

How could I have missed this? How had I been so ignorant? _How?_

"Where is she…?" I whispered hoarsely, trying not to let panic overwhelm my judgment. It was hard to see anything clearly though the smoke and haze, but even so, I wasn't able to spot my mother amongst the fighting. "Think, Hiccup," I ground between gritted teeth. "If I were her, where would I be?"

_That's right_! I thought, gripping Grayheart's saddle tighter. _She would be-_

"Grayheart, duck!" I cried as someone from one of the ships shot a net at us. She dived in order the ovoid the projectile, but that only brought us closer to the ground. "Pull up!" I yelled as several other groups spotted us and began shooting. "My mother should be waiting for us on the ice ledge!"

Grayheart tilted upward, yet she wasn't fast enough, for one of the stone attacked to a net caught her on the wing. The dragon roared in pain, but the injury didn't slow her down as we made our up to the top of the ice cavern. Once we landed on the ledge where my mother was over-viewing the soon to be battleground, I jumped off Grayheart and ran over to her wing, examining the injury.

"Is she alright?" my mother asked, running over to us. She had her dragon mask on, but as I watched, she took it off, revealing dark lines under her eyes. She looked tired and worried, and it hurt to see her beautiful face in such a state.

I ran my fingers over the bruised forelimb, and Grayheart winced. "She'll be alright, I think," I said, "but going on a long flight right now wouldn't be a good idea."

"Hiccup, you need to listen to me," my mother said, gripping my shoulders. "This isn't just a simple battle like we've had before. Once an Alpha wins, things are going to get ugly very quickly. Do you understand?"

I swallowed. Of course I understood – _had_ understood since I saw the enemy for myself – but her words made all this chaos seem so much more real.

"Yes," I croaked, taking in everything about her features. Until this day I had never realized just how remarkable my mother was. Standing tall and firm, she was truly a warrior through and through – a woman raised by vikings and savages, yet not one of them. "Mom, I-"

She took my face in her hands, looking at me with so much love and pride. "Hush," she whispered, and I closed my mouth. "I've had you for sixteen years, Hiccup, and I wouldn't have traded that time for anything. I'm so sorry that this has happened. Perhaps if I had…" She paused, then shook her head, a look of pure determination crossing her features. "No, nothing could have prevented this, and we have little choice now."

I wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but it didn't seem the time. After all, I could always talk to her about it when this fight was over…right?

"Now then," Valka said with ample amounts of fortitude, stepping back. "It's time to go to battle."

I nodded, stealing my shoulders. "Where do you want Grayheart and I?" I asked, and the dragon behind me growled in agreement.

"Aside from us, there are no other humans here to direct the dragons, so I need you by the ships. Try to find the army's commander, and take him down. Cloudjumper and I will try to help the Alpha."

"Ok then. Let's go, Grayheart."

I jumped onto the typhoomerang and she reared up in anticipation.

My mother watched the two of us with a small smile, before nodding, slipping her mask on once again, and climbing onto Cloudjumper. "To battle!" she cried, raising her staff.

Pulling out my own staff from Grayheart's saddle, I copied her – raising the weapon above my head and letting out a savage battle cry as we took to the air. A hoard of dragons that had been waiting for a command followed me with a collaborated roar of determination.

_Now is the time,_ I thought, pulling the dragon mask over my face as we swooped toward the main battlements. _Now we either fight for our home or die trying._

The two groups of dragons collided with a colossal roar and the ring of metal. Bursts of fire surrounded us, sometimes so close it felt as if the fur on my coat had been singed. For the most part the enemy dragons stayed away from Grayheart, and I didn't blame them. She was indeed intimidating, and the few times a dragon did dare to face her head on, they were met with a burst of flame and her incredible spin – one that forced the attacking dragon to retreat.

After only a few minutes of dodging projectiles and such, it became apparent to me that Grayheart was in no condition to be making such carful maneuvers, but luckily by then I had already spotted the ship that seemed to be relaying orders to the others; not surprising, seeing as it was the largest one with twice as many sails as the others and a three-pointed prow. After whistling, a nadder flew under us and I jumped onto his back. "Fly above and wait for me!" I told Grayheart. She didn't appear happy about the two of us separating, but I tried my best to ignore her fear.

On my command, the nadder came as close to the enemy ship as he could before I jumped off and into the icy water. My lungs clenched from the cold, but I forced myself to remain underwater as I swam toward the leading ship. Surfacing at the starboard side, I waited and made sure I hadn't been spotted before swimming up the length of the massive craft, looking for a way to climb up.

Near the middle I found a hanging chain and grabbed hold, using it to haul my way up. _Don't leave an unsupervised chain just dangling there unless you want some company,_ I thought, snickering grimly to myself. _Stupid vikings._

Unfortunately, my thoughts were interrupted by a rather hairy man sticking his head over the side of the boat, probably wondering where the slight rattling sound was coming from. I punched him in the beard, and the man fell backward with a groan and a thud. While that _did_ attract less attention than an audible warning, it still brought me some rather unwanted notice, and when I finally climbed aboard nearly half the crew was staring at me.

Not knowing exactly what to do now that I was completely exposed, I waved at them.

"Get 'en!" yelled a barrel of a man, pointing at me with his hammer. Three of the vikings charged, and it took some carful maneuvering to avoid their strikes. Fortunately, none of the men seemed very good at working in a group, and nearly decapitated each other as they tried to turn around. I ignored most of them, only using my staff to incapacitate those I saw as lager threats; I knew exactly where I was going.

To the bow, where one huge, fur-caped viking overlooked the battle – both arms nearly as thick as a gronckle's tail.

The man turned when he heard all the commotion and I caught sight of a red beard that was tied up near the ends. This one was going to be hard to take down, I knew, but before I could even reach the man, four younger-looking vikings appeared from out of nowhere, blocking me. Now I was surrounded on both sides.

"Where do you think _you're_ going, dragon lover?" one of the younger ones derided. He was short and somewhat stout, and the smug look on his face made me want to punch his stupid lights out.

"Steady," the girl near the front said. She was one of the few that didn't have a helmet – carrying an axe with grim determination. "We don't know what he can do yet."

Another, appearing to be the female version of a set of twins, sneered. "You think he's scared?"

"Yeah," the male chipped, pushing his sister out of the way so he could get a better view of their attacker. "Probably by your face. When was the last time you shaved? Oh wait, I forgot you're a girl. You don't shave."

That earned him a punch in the face, and I took advantage of their disorder and sprung forward, kicking the stout one in the nose with no little amount of satisfaction. Drawing close to the leader, I raised my staff to strike, only for it to be blocked by a silver axe. "Protect Stoick, you morons!" said the girl with no helmet, yelling at her teammates.

I glared at her, unhappy that the look went unnoticed behind my mask. _Why are these rag-tag bunch of vikings defending this Stoick guy anyway? Can't the man defend himself?_

Then I noticed it. I had been too preoccupied with the leader's huge stature, and because of that I had failed of see that the man didn't have a weapon on him. _What?_ I thought, confused. _What kind of viking doesn't carry a an axe or a hammer?_

Stoick cracked his knuckles, and suddenly any thoughts that this man didn't have a way to defend himself vanished in an instant. "Let the boy come, if you thinks he can handle it," he snarled – shoulders back and eyes narrowed.

"But sir, Drago said-"

"_I'll_ deal with Drago Bludvist."

So this Stoick character _wasn't_ the one calling the shots? We circled each other as the vikings stepped backward, giving Stoick and I more room. Obviously they had seen this man fight one-on-one before.

_If_he's_not the one in command, then that means…_

I suddenly froze as the revelation hit me, and my breath caught in fear. _That means…_

_Mom!_

"That's right," Stoick said smugly, seeing the stiffening in my shoulders. "Drago is in the front line, probably fighting with your little friend right now."

"Yeah," grinned the male twin from his place outside the circle. "We're gunna take you both _down_."

Swearing silently, I glanced over to where the two behemoths were butting heads, but I couldn't see anything else through the swarm of fighting dragons. The older alpha – _our_ alpha – seemed to be tiring. His thrusts were getting shorter and weaker, and the younger one was gaining confidence quickly.

_I have to get up there!_ I thought frantically, edging toward the front of the bow. Stoick used my frantic glances against me and took that moment to attack, striking me in the gut with one low punch. I flew back and slammed against the prow, and everything flashed a dark shade of red.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?"

I tried to scramble back up, attempting to get my breath back, but before I could, Stoick leaned down and picked me up by the throat. I clawed frantically at his hand, but my limbs felt as heavy as lead, and pretty soon my vision began to grow black around the edges.

"Listen well, _dragon lover_," Stoick growled, drawing me closer; his voice mocked and insulted my existence. "When this battle over, we'll take pity on the dragons that live because they're useful to us – but not you. Both you and your little friend will die today. Be thankful it's me granting you swift passage into Hel's Hall, and not Drago Bludvist."

I tried to kick him off, but the man's hold was made of iron, and it felt like I was pushing against a tree.

"Smash his face inside out!" called one of the teens behind Stoick. "Crush his skull!"

I met Stoick's gaze head-on, and for the first time in my life, I hated – _truly_ hated. How _dare_ he? I wanted to kill him – kill them all! More than anything I wanted to see every last viking drown in a pool of their own blood, but there was nothing I could do as my vision was slowly enclosed in darkness.

Suddenly there came a sound like a screeching whoosh, and a huge ball of fire hit the ship like a hammer hitting a toy boat – but, you know, with more fire. Stoick stumbled and dropped me, and I fell to the ground, gasping as breathfuls of glorious air filled up my lungs. The attacking dragon flew past, but just as swiftly it began to loop back around.

Stoick seemed to realize his mistake in dropping me, but he turned back too late. I hauled myself up and over the edge of the boat just before he could grab me again, only to be swept up by a huge set of claws.

The group of angry vikings grew smaller as the dragon lifted me up, and I took a moment to catch my breath before patting the beast's leg. "Thanks Grayheart," I croaked, coughing. The typhoomerang grumbled, not happy that I had almost gotten killed without her. The crew of that ship had made a mistake by focusing on me and not on the sky, and Grayheart had had the perfect opportunity to make a rescue.

I really did have an amazing dragon.

My thankfulness only lasted a moment, however, for in the next instant I remembered my mother and frantically climbed onto Grayheart's back. "Go to the Alpha!" I called. "Hurry! Mom's in danger!"

Grayheart turned, winging her way back toward the fighting, and what I saw when we drew closer made my chest clench in fear.

My mother was hovering on Cloudjumber, closer to the fighting Alphas then I would have liked, but her attention was focused on the dragon before her – or, more importantly, the rider upon the dragon.

The man was almost certainly thicker then Stoick, with a black cloak wrapped around himself that appeared to be made from dragon skin. He was riding a small, pitch black dragon, a species I had never seen before in my life.

Drago Bludvist.

My mother and him appeared to be conversing, but, as I watched, Drago raised a hand, and his dragon began to back away.

A feeling of cold dread washed over me, similar to the feeling of last night's dream had induced, only this time it was much more palpable as I watched our alpha fall, stabbed through the chest by the other bewilderbeast's tusks. The great dragon roared in pain, then crashed into the ice enclave he himself had created, causing it to crack under his great weight.

"Mom!" I screamed, urging Grayheart to go faster.

My mother heard me and looked up, fear flashing through her eyes. "Hiccup!" she shouted as Cloudjumber flapped his wings frantically. "Hiccup, get out of here!"

The wall behind her groaned, crumbling apart into massive chunks of ice…

"Mom!" I screamed again, reaching out to her, begging – pleading. _Stop! Oh gods, please stop!_

… and then it fell, crashing down toward the dragon and rider flying beneath.

_MOM!_

-o0o-

"You let the little devil brat get away!" boomed one of Drago's men, angrily pointing a club at Stoick as his beard smoked from the recently-extinguished fire. "I knew Drago shouldn't have let this one come, ya traitor!"

Astrid ground her teeth, furious. "That wasn't Stoick's fault, and you know it!" she defended, giving the man her best glare. The other members of her dragon-slaying class behind her nodded in conjoined agreement.

"It's all right," said Stoick, putting a calming hand on her shoulder. His face looked haggard; an appearance Astrid was unaccustomed to seeing. It had started when Drago Bludvist had insisted in taking command of Stoick's own men, and she knew that submitting to the evil man's wishes had been harder on their leader then anyone fully realized. "I wasn't even supposed to be fighting in the first place, remember?" he said, narrowing his eyes.

The man looked at a loss for words, but just snarled it away. "We'll just see what Drago has to say about this, once the battle has been won."

"How can you just let them treat you like that?" Astrid asked as the crew went back to their battle posts.

"Yeah!" Snotlout agreed. "If it were me, I would have pulled all his teeth out and used them too…do something, uh…deadly! Yeah!"

I rolled my eyes, but Stoick only sighed. "There are many decisions a leader must make for the betterment of everyone. Soon the dragons will be taken care of, and when that day comes, we will celebrate today's sacrifices." He turned back to the battle, looking out over all the carnage and death that had already been wrought. "I hope."

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?" called Fishlegs, panting as he ran up from the back of the ship. Only minutes before the masked dragon-defender had started causing trouble on board, Fishlegs had been asked to help repair a canon on another ship.

"Only _everything!_" Tuffnut exaggerated.

"Well sorry," Fishlegs said, "but the igniter gas on this one canon leaked, and I had to-"

"Look at that!" Ruffnut interrupted, pointing to the two fighting bewilderbeasts. We watched as the darker one got the upper hand and stabbed his opponent, creating an avalanche of ice.

"The Alpha has been defeated!" someone shouted, and a roar rose up from all the ships.

"Come on, guys!" Astrid said, gripping her axe and grinning. "It's time we ended this, once and for all!"

-o0o-

**_Wow. Just…wow. I've never had that big of a reaction to one of my stories before. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. It really means a lot._**

**_Just letting you know that this isn't going to be the regular schedule for this story. The only reason I got this chapter out so quickly is because I had a little bit of free time, but pretty soon life is going to hit me in the face like a wet lasagna noodle and the time between chapters will get longer._**

**_Let me know if you enjoyed! Or if it made you want to throw your computer out the window. Either way, I'd love to hear from you!_**


	3. Part 1 - Tears to Tyr

Dragon's Hope, Part 1

Chapter 3:

Tears to Tyr

-o0o-

"MOM!"

The world seemed to still as I watched the avalanche of ice fall – seeing it swallow Cloudjumper like he was nothing. It hit the hard earth in an explosion of white, and Grayheart was thrown back.

_No…i-it can't…_She_ can't…_

"Grayheart!" I cried, but the dragon was already diving into the cloud of upturned snow. We hit the invisible ground with a thud and I nearly impaled myself on one of her spines. I tried jumping off, but in my haste, my leg was caught on a saddle strap and I tumbled to the ground – landing harshly on my right wrist.

I cried out, clutching the injured limb. Gritting my teeth through the pain, I tried to get to my feet, only to find both my knees skinned and bleeding harshly. Grayheart extended her neck and caught me as I started to stumble, but I just shoved her away, struggling toward the hill that used to be the dragon sanctuary's unbreakable wall.

"Mom!" I screamed, throwing off my mask. I continued to call her name as I pushed aside colossal chunks of ice, refusing to believe for even a second that she was, in fact, dead. She couldn't be. My mother was the only person in my life I could be close to. She was like the dragon sanctuary – sturdy, beautiful, and invincible. Always there and always ready to take care of me.

She wasn't allowed to disappear, just like that. She wasn't allowed to die.

And so I continued to dig. I dug until my fingers were numb and bleeding. Until tears streaked my face, and my calls turned to dry sobs. Until my right hand stopped moving altogether, and I could only hit it against the never-ending pile uselessly.

Finally, after finding only ice and ice and ice, I sank to my knees, defeated. Pain shot through my legs from the contact, but at the moment I couldn't find the energy to care. I just sat there, staring at what had once been the great wall that kept us safe, transformed into what was to become my despair.

It felt as if I had truly lost everything.

Grayheart behind me whimpered, but I didn't look at her. The dragon had only stood there throughout my episode of pointless searching, _knowing_ that everything I did was in vain, yet not doing anything to stop me.

For that I both loved and hated the dragon.

For a while, nothing could seem to awaken me from my trance, but when there came the sound of a heavy breath to my right, I turned toward it. A great tusk rested near the side of the ice-pile, but I could hardly see anything else through the dimming sunlight and smog, courtesy of the fire that was no doubt burning away most of the island's vegetation.

Pushing against the ground, I tried to struggle to my feet, failing several times. Grayheart kept her distance, knowing when her help wasn't wanted. Finally, I was able to straighten up, gritting my teeth through the pain. My thick pants were nearly shredded, revealing legs covered in blood. The cold ground hadn't helped anything, and the intact part of my pants were coated in crushed ice and snow.

I took a single step forward, then another and another, until I was staggering forward without really knowing what I was doing. After ducking under the thinner part of the tusk, I came face to face with a majestic, white dragon.

The fallen Alpha.

His great plume was limp and disheveled, and his eyes were shut. I staggered and nearly fell at the sight of our protector in such a sorry state, and sagged against the dragon's tusk.

"I'm sorry," whispered hoarsely, and I felt a tear slide down my dirty face. "I'm so sorry. It was my fault. It was all my fault. _My fault..._"

I heard the sound of a dragon moan and thought that Grayheart might be behind me, but when I looked up, I found the great alpha's eyes open and gazing at my tiny figure. The master dragon was alive, but I knew it would not last. His gaze – one of the purest blue – looked on me with the weight of the sky, and my eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm sorry," I told him again, and this time I found myself crying into my arms, my only support the huge dragon's tusk. "There is nothing I can do for you. I can't help you…or anyone. I-I couldn't even save…

The moan came again, and when I met his eyes once more, they were filled with some strange emotion I couldn't even begin to fathom. "You…you're sad too, aren't you?" I asked, but it wasn't really a question. "You're…grieving."

I felt the urge to comfort the dragon, but what was there to say? So I only continued to stare into his eyes, getting lost in their brilliance. I felt as if the alpha were looking at my very soul, and I wandered what he would find there.

At some point, he blew out a breath, but instead of the feeling a cold rush of air, it was warm and calming. Instantly, I felt rejuvenated. The pain in my wrist and neck vanished, and I found I could straighten my knees without a jolt of pain. I wiggled the fingers of my right hand, and noticed with some amazement that they operated normally again. "What…what did you do?" I asked, still moving my fingers and feeling out the strength of my legs. The dragon's only response was to blink at me, and I found myself walking over to his head, now standing in awe of the majestic beast.

"I…thank you," I said quietly, putting my hand on his enormous chin. The alpha snorted weakly, as if it was no big deal, and I smiled. Then I leaned my forehead against him and everything – the sounds of war and chaos, fire and the cries of anguished dragons – seemed to disappear as I listened to our protector breath out for the last time.

"Well, isn't this touching."

I spun around, looking for the person speaking. There, walking out of the smog was a man so thick he could have outweighed a nightmare. His entire figure – beard, hair, and cloak – was as solid black, and he walked with a confident smugness that made me sick with rage.

Drago Bludvist.

"You!" I snarled, leaping forward to attack. I let out a yell of fury and hate, but Grayheart was suddenly there, blocking me with her neck. "Let me go!" I shouted, pounding at her rough scales, but the dragon wouldn't budge. Then, after my breathing slowed and I stopped struggling relentlessly, I realized that there was nothing I could do. Drago could probably snap my neck if he wanted to, and, undoubtedly, he did. It also didn't help that I had lost my weapon when I tried to kill Stoick, and he clutched a giant spear in his right fist. Jumping onto Grayheart and flying far, far away from this man was likely the only thing I could do in my current condition, alpha's healing or no, but somehow my feet stayed planted, thoughts of retaliation the only thing in my mind.

What would I be if I just abandoned the bodies of the dead, without even trying?

Slowly, when she realized that I wasn't going to charge to my death, Grayheart removed her head and stood next to me as I turned back to Drago. "What do you want?" I snarled, glaring with all my fury. "You've already won, haven't you? What more can you take?"

"Oh, quite a lot," the man smirked, and I gritted my teeth. "I just came to see all this destruction for myself." His eyes raked over the fallen alpha, and a victorious smile tugged at the corners of his crooked mouth. "This is truly a day to be told of."

"For what? The slaughter? The anguish and grief?

"Yes."

I took a step back, startled at the man's harsh reply. Then Drago began to advance, ignoring Grayheart's warning growl. "But more importantly, _boy_, this day will be known for _my_ victory. For _my _power. From now on, nothing can hope to stand in the way of Drago Bludvist, and the world will soon be _mine_."

He continued to press forward, and I found myself backing up until my spine was pressed up against the alpha's tusk. Grayheart let out a threatening roar, but Drago only smiled at her. I heard the sound of another growl, one with a higher intensity, and Grayheart quieted. Glancing behind Drago, I caught sight of a dark shadow through the smoke, stalking just outside my limited vision. Green eyes stared out at us with a mindless expression, and I knew this had to be Drago's personal dragon I had seen earlier.

Somehow those eyes made me shiver, and I looked away quickly. Drago was still advancing – pointing to my chest with his long spear. He smirked when he caught me looking at his dragon and said, "That's right, _boy_. All the dragons serve me now, but you…" He narrowed his eyes. "I'll have to destroy you."

Suddenly he let out a mighty roar and threw the spear with astonishing speed, but Grayheart was faster. She grabbed my coat between her teeth and hauled me out of the way, bounding over the alpha's tusk. Then the dragon began to run with me still in her mouth. "Let me go!" I yelled at her, but my dragon was having none of that. Grayheart had had enough of chit chat, and now it was time to leave.

"Grayheart, go back!" I demanded, a note of desperation in my voice. "We can't just leave them!"

The dragon ignored me, and was trying to do a running takeoff when a screeched ripped through the air. Grayheart, just in time, realized what was going on and let me go before a small plasmaball slammed into her. I hit the ground with an awkward, tumbling roll, but Grayheart wasn't so lucky. She was thrown to the side and crashed into a piece of the ice wall that stuck out of the earth.

"Grayheart!" I called, but she didn't move from where she lay slumped in the snow. The black dragon landed between us with Drago Bludvist on its back, and I retreated several steps. Watching him dismount, I got my first good look at his personal dragon. It's body structure reminded me of a salamander, though it was only slightly smaller than a skrill with no outer spikes or armor that I could see. Its eyes bore into mine like a crazed animal, but this one was intelligent and ready to kill. The dragon's potency must have lain within its strength or fire-power, meaning my best bet of survival was to stay away from its mouth. Now, if I could only get to Grayheart and see if she was alright, we might have a fighting chance.

"Surely you realize that you can't escape me, _boy_." Drago said in his gruff, scratched voice. The spear was once again in his hand. "I could summon any number of mindless beasts to kill you if I wanted. You have no escape."

"Then why don't you?" I asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Why don't you call the dragons to kill me? You obviously love abusing that ability of yours, so why not. Unless…" I gestured to the thick smoke all around us. "The alpha has to be able to see your signal, right? Well, he can't see you here. And if you called for him, the dragon would come charging in, and _you_ could be crushed. I've lived with an alpha all my life, and I know. You're virtually stranded out here with only one dragon until you either fly away or the fire all around us burns itself out."

Drago snarled. "You're a smart little brat, I'll give you that. I'm going to enjoy killing you."

He growled, low and deep, and the black dragon began to stalk towards me. Its circular mouth opened as it started sucking in a huge breath, no doubt to blow me to Helhim's Hall. I found my back against a large bolder, staring down the monster's glowing throat.

"What, you have to depend on one of your pets to take care of me?" I said out of desperation. Instantly the monster shut its mouth, and I almost collapsed from relief.

"What did you say?" Drago asked, nostril flaring.

"Can't you take care of your own enemies? I mean, you were doing it earlier with the spear and everything, so why not now? Did you gain a phobia of blood? Are you afraid of losing?"

"Silence!"

The dragon folded its ears back in a frightened expression, and it backed away from me. I might have felt sorry of it, if I wasn't busy dealing with the newest threat to my life.

Drago threw his spear at me again, and I just had time to dodge it before it shattered against the bolder, right where I had been standing. Then he charged, bellowing like a madman, and I was forced to go on defense. It felt…good, somehow. That seemed like a strange thing to feel, considering, but as soon as I moved, my body was flooded with intense adrenalin. Everything became clearer and more defined, and when I dodged another punch, my leap was nearly twice as far as normal.

_Did the alpha do this to me?_ I thought as I countered the huge man's swing. _Is_ _this how a dragon feels all the time?_ Grabbing hold of his arm, I used the man's momentum as he pulled it back and got in a kick to the face. _Huh,_ I thought. _Not bad._

"Enough of this!" Drago roared, smacking me away. It hit the ground in a puff of snow, but when I got back up, I didn't try attacking again. A hissing sound had begun to fill the small clearing where we currently resided, and Drago smirked. A small, metal container rested in his right hand, and it was leaking some form of green smoke.

I knew that color, that was-

"Zippleback gas," Drago confirmed, smiling broadly. "Not quite." He gestured at the black dragon. "Tell me, little dragon master, do you know what type of beast this is?"

I swallowed, still staring at the leaking container as the gas cloud continued to grow around our feet, and shook my head.

"The people call it a night fury, and though they're all just monsters to me, there is one thing special about this one. You see, every fire dragon has a sack of fuel, right next to their lungs that they use to light their fire, and it just so happens that night furies have the most powerful type. It also just so happens that, when…_collected,_ and refined, it makes a very explosive gas."

My eyes widened in horror when I realized what the man meant, and I sucked in a breath. "You mean you…" I said, too sickened to finish.

"That's right," he laughed, his smile widening to insane proportions. "Oh, there was quite a lot of them, in the beginning, but I ran out of the stupid brutes a long time ago. This one was only a baby, so I thought I'd keep him alive…for now."

My stomach turned, and I thought I might be sick. _He killed an entire species of dragon, just for their fire-fuel._

I was so preoccupied with the thought that I didn't hear Drago's signal. In the next moment, the black dragon had pounced on me, its mouth opened and ready to fire. I closed my eyes and prepared for the feeling of fire, but after several seconds of waiting, I opened them again. The dragon was still poised and ready to attack, but obviously Drago hadn't given the signal to fire. I looked over at the brutish man, watching as he threw his dead back and _laughed_.

_He thinks this is fun!_ By now I was shaking, rage building within me. _Teasing me! Killing everyone I love!_ "I swear, I am going to make you pay," I said with all the conviction I could muster.

A threat.

A promise.

Drago only laughed at me. "Well then," he said, grinning, "We'll just see how that goes when your body is nothing but ashes in the wind."

Then he turned, throwing the container of leaking gas in the snow and walking out of the clearing. He didn't even look back once, and simply left me to my fate. The gas was all around me, and while it would drift away eventually, I knew that I could never get away in time. As soon as Drago was clear, his dragon would light the fire, and we would all die.

Drago was not only going to kill both Grayheart and I, but also his own dragon.

"You coward!" I screamed into the night, but no one answered me. I kicked and struggled from under the small dragon, but it had me pinned like a mouse caught in the talons of a vulture. "Let me go, you stupid lizard! Come on, I know you don't want to die! LET. ME. GO!"

For a second, the night fury's hardened gaze faltered and his grip loosened, but that was enough. I kicked out his leg, and was able to scramble to my feet before the disoriented dragon even realized what had happened. It didn't last long, however, for I could hear the sucking sound that accompanied the dragon's fire blast.

It was too late. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't get free of the gas.

This was it. I was going to die.

It was then that I heard it. A familiar sound, one that made my heart leap for joy and clench with dread.

The sound of a desperate typhoomerang.

I turned, just in time to get the wind knocked out of me by one huge, outstretched wing. "What-!" was all I had time to say before an explosion ripped through the fabric of reality, and the world glowed white.

-o0o-

I must have awoken some time later, for the smell of smoke was nearly gone, and everything was dark.

Too dark, almost.

I groaned, trying to sit up, but I was forced to fall back when my entire body exploded in agony. Everything, especially my upper body, burned like it was on fire. My eyes felt they had been poked out with a fire prong, and no amount of blinking could ease the pain away.

At first I was so disoriented that my thoughts were like leaves scattered on a windy autumn day. Where was I? What…what happened?

After what felt like hours, I found that it was bearable to move my arms, and so I brought my hands up and I tried rubbing my eyes. Instantly I regretted the action, for my head exploded in pain, and when I brought my fingers back, they were covered in something wet and sticky.

What…? I tried sitting up again, but this time something seemed to be keeping me pinned. I was so confused. Where was up? Where was the sky? I moved my hands across the ground, feeling the soft snow beneath me. My fingers brushed against something leathery and cold. I grabbed the thing that was keeping me pinned, and slowly, oh so slowly, I realized what it was.

A dragon wing.

Then it all came back to me. The battle, my mother's, Cloudjumper's and the alpha's deaths, Drago Bludvist, and the gas hissing as it spread across the ground. I remembered being pinned by the night fury, and seeing the fear in its – his – eyes.

…And I remembered Grayheart waking up and shielding me just before the black dragon had lit the explosive gas.

_Oh no… _

"Grayheart!" I croaked, barely more than a whisper, but all that I could manage at the moment. I felt along the dragon's wing – ignoring the flashes of pain that nearly made me pass out – until I found the base of her wing and then her chest. She felt as cold as stone, and desperately I pushed her wing out of the way so that I could put an ear just beneath her collarbone. I held my breath as I searched for a heartbeat, but even through the ringing in my ears, nothing could be heard. It was simple, cold silence. It was nothing.

Grayheart – my closest friend and companion, was dead.

_Now_…I had truly lost everything.

-o0o-

_**And now the true story can begin! Thank you everyone for getting this far. I hope I didn't make you want to throw your computer out the window (either for the story or my horrible grammar). Things will get better, I swear!**_

_**Next chapter, we get to see what Astrid and friends have been up too. Please don't forget to review, and see you soon! **_


	4. Part 1 - Always Dragon Days

Dragon's Hope, Part 1

Chapter 4:

Always Dragon Days

-o0o-

The trip back to Berk was fairly uneventful, though in the most agonizing way.

First off, no one would stop _talking_. Every minute of the long ship-ride home was filled with chatting and bragging to no end. The boys especially, that being Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs, continued on and on about how many dragons they captured, injuries they sustained, and near-death experiences they managed, making Astrid wish that they hadn't been only _near_-death experiences. At first Ruffnut added in her own bits, but by the time they parted ways with Drago Bludvist and the majority of his forces – so they could no doubt begin searching for another island of dragons to waste – the twin's expression was beginning to match Astrid's.

For what it was worth, Astrid couldn't really find the energy to make them shut up. In a weird sort of way, their constant talking was comforting, if only slightly. It reminded her of Berk's eating hall where she would often go to get away from the terrifying, ever-present silence that was her house.

Astrid hated silence. She wasn't a huge fan of constant chatter either, but she hated silence.

Suddenly, the ship rocked to the right, and a startled Snotlout was flung rather inelegantly onto her lap, hitting his head against the wall Astrid was currently leaning against. "Oh, hey babe," he grinned, just before she shoved him to the floor with a painful _ooff_.

"Ugh, why does it have to be so cramped in here?" she complained, crossing her arms. "This isn't the way viking ships are supposed to be, even _if_ this vessel was made to accommodate dragons."

"Yeah," Ruffnut agreed, plugging her nose. "It's bad enough being stuck in a wormhole for days, but with _boys_? ick!"

"Hey!" Snotlout said, still sitting on the floor. "We bathed before we left!…um, I think. Right guys?" Fishlegs and Tuffnut looked at each other, then shrugged. They were boys, of course they didn't know.

"Whatever," Astrid sighed, getting to her feet. "I'm going to walk around for a bit."

"If you want," said Fishlegs, that ever-present babyish expression on his face, "you could check on the dragons. It's our day to watch them, and no one's been in there yet."

"Maybe," she muttered, opening the door to their tiny cabin and slipping through.

As soon as the door creaked shut, everyone rounded on Snotlout. "Okay, spill," growled Ruffnut. "What did you do to Astrid?"

Snotlout looked offended. "_Me_? I haven't done anything!"

"Well, it's someone's fault."

"Yeah," Tuffnut added. "Probably yours."

"Look," said Snotlout, holding up his hands, "I admit that I haven't been the bestest friend in the past-" someone coughed, "-but I swear, this time it wasn't me!"

"He's right," Fishlegs supplied. "Astrid's been pretty down ever since Stoick was forced to give over his leadership to Drago and wasn't allowed to join the fighting. She has a lot of faith in our village, and that must have been a pretty bad blow to her pride."

Everyone quieted at that, looking at their hands. No one was happy about the state of the things right now, but neither did they have any say in the matter. It was either let Drago take charge, or watch as he trampled them underfoot. Be led or be crushed – their choice.

Ruffnut sighed. "Let's just hope we get home soon."

Even though they were all vikings to the core, no one could argue with that.

-o0o-

Despite telling herself that she most defiantly _wasn't_ going to spend her time in the company of dragons, Astrid found herself inside their hold, not really knowing what she was doing there. Most of the dragons here were Drago's rejects; either they weren't strong enough for his army, or they were just too violent to handle. And so they came home with the Harry Hooligans, where they were kept in cages until someone could find something useful to do with them.

Astrid sighed – a bad habit she was starting to develop – and slumped onto a stool. _At least in here I have room to spread out_, she thought, wincing when one of the burns she had sustained during the recent battle pressed against the back wall. In front of her were two long rows of cages, fitted with iron bars in the front. The dragons strong enough to break the wooden walls were bound in heavy shackles, and every mouth within the large enclosure was muzzled shut.

Leaning her head back, Astrid closed her eyes and tried to relax. After spending days in that tiny room with the chatty boys, the hold seemed rather peaceful, and she just let her mind wander.

Not a minute later, Astrid was jerked upright by a loud clang. One of the dragons – closer to the back – had starting banging its head against the iron bars. Astrid gritted her teeth at the sound, but when it continued she got to her feet, grabbed a club from a bin near her feet, and stalked over to the cage, intent on bashing in some dragon brains.

When she reached the appropriate enclose, what she found was one bound nadder laying on the ground, banging its head against the metal bars where the hard iron muzzle rested. The dragon looked blue, though it was hard to tell through dim lantern-light. As Astrid approached, the monster lifted its head and cocked it. The motion reminded her of a bird.

"Shut up, would you?" she asked, lifting the club threateningly. "I'm trying to at least get a _little_ rest before we reach Berk."

The dragon only continued to stare at her, giving no sign that it understood anything she said.

"Of course it didn't, stupid," she muttered, giving her forehead a good smack with the palm of her hand. "I'm talking to a dragon."

She turned around, but as soon as she began to walk away the sound of the dragon hitting its head against the bars started up again, and Astrid sighed. She went back to the cage, glaring at the beast. "You're not going to let me sleep, are you?"

The nadder stared up at her with one glowing, yellow eye and hummed. Astrid sighed again. "Fine then, I'll just stay here."

She dropped the club onto the floor, then sat down and leaned her back against the metal bars. The dragon laid its head back down, but the humming continued until Astrid found herself drifting off to the pleasant melody. She was tired, and just wanted this entire adventure to end.

She just wanted to go home.

-o0o-

The sounds of pounding feet and boisterous voices woke Astrid, and she blinked open her eyes. The light flittering through the cracks in the ceiling had grown dimmer, meaning that several hours had already passed. She stretched, wondering when she had fallen over and started sleeping on the floor.

Astrid suddenly scrambled to her feet, realizing she had been resting with her back pressed against the nadder's cheek through the cage bars. The bird-like dragon woke up at her sudden startle, cocking its head at her and humming questioningly. "Stupid dragon," she growled, kicking the bars of the cage as embarrassment flooding over her. _Odin's ghost, I hope no one saw that._

The dragon jerked back and the humming ceased, though Astrid hardly noticed. She turned around in a huff and stalked toward the door, yanking it open just in time to catch Ratface as he walked past.

"What's all the commotion about?" she asked him.

The viking stopped and sniffed, peering at her with those little eyes of his. "Don't you know? Corse you don't, stupid kids. We've nearly reached Berk!"

"Oh," Astrid said, still trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. "Thanks."

Ratface staked away, muttering something about lazy, good-for-nothing kids. Astrid chose to ignore the comment as she ran up to the top deck, exited at the prospect of being home. The rest of her class – along with most of the ship – was already there, looking out over the sea as Berk slowly grew larger. Snotlout waved at her casually when he noticed her presence and tried to look cool, to which Astrid promptly ignored him. Stoick was also on deck, talking to several vikings, though his gaze rested on the small village as they approached.

Ruffnut was leaning against the side of the ship, her chin in one hand. Astrid fought her way through the (rather foul-smelling) crowd and joined the twin, gripping the gunwale and leaning into the wind. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply, letting the sea wind bring her scents of home.

"Where have you been?" asked Ruffnut, looking over at her. "Snotlout almost drove everyone crazy, looking for you."

"I was just inside the dragon hold."

Shrugging, Ruffnut went back to looking out over the ocean. "Whatever. We didn't see you in there when we looked."

Astrid blinked. _They didn't see me? Oh yeah, I must have been hard to notice, sleeping all the way in the back. _The memory of her sleeping soundly next to a dragon flashed through her head, and she winced, trying to push it away. That was not something a viking should be thinking about.

It didn't take much longer to reach the docks, and their ship – the dragon carrier – was the last to be unloaded. Gobber was waiting on the docks, a hook attacked to his stubbed hand so that he could help reel in the boats.

"Doesn't look to bad," said Gobber as he grasped Stoick's hand, pulling the chief onto the dock. He then turned and looked over the crowd of vikings. "Lose any heads?"

"Well," someone said, "we lost old Blabbermouth."

"Now, ain't that a terrible shame. Alright, ya lazy bunch of sealegs! Time to get those dragons unloaded. Let's go."

Everyone groaned, but swiftly went to do their respective jobs – handing things to the men on shore or going below to start unloading the dragons. Astrid knew that her group was supposed to be helping in the hold, but she decided to take a moment and stretch while on dry ground. Gobber and the chief were talking to each other not two yards away, and Astrid couldn't help but overhear a little of what they were saying.

"So, everything went well, I take it?" said Gobber.

Stoick nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "We had a little trouble with a couple of dragon-defenders, though Drago took care of them right enough. It was a large nest, and we caught a healthy amount of them devils."

Astrid almost snorted, but controlled herself. Those _dragon-defenders_ nearly made them lose the battle, and if it wasn't for Drago's giant pet, then they would probably all be dragon chow by now.

"Oh, now that's not what I meant, Stoick." Gobber poked the chief in the chest with his hook-hand. "I was talkin' bout _you_."

Stoick crossed his arms – though he was barely able to – and scowled. "Drago Bludvist has nerve, I'll say that much. Said I should watch and learn, as if he had something to prove to me. I tell you Gobber, if that man didn't have an army behind his words, they would be the last thing to ever leave his mouth."

Gobber laughed. "Ha! That'll be the day. Wait just a moment, you two! Carful with that dragon!"

The one-legged man jumped onto the boat where a couple of vikings were trying to drag something from under the deck. Whatever it was on the other side of those chains didn't appear to be in a very good mood, and it was giving the men quite a bit of trouble.

"Someone give us a hand here!" one of them called, just as the dragon let out a piercing shriek. Astrid started to rush forward to help, but suddenly the dragon realized that the men wanted to drag it _outside_ instead of back into the dark hold, and so it decided to make a dash for freedom. With the abrupt change of direction came a wave of confusion as half a dozen men suddenly found themselves sitting on their rumps; the chains jerked rather painfully from their hands.

Astrid watched as her nadder – for it _was _the nadder that had slept beside her earlier – burst through the thick ranks of vikings as if they were pins in a game of Cone-Bowling, and effortlessly jumped onto the docks. The dragon was indeed very blue, and covered in so many restraints and chains that Astrid wondered how it even managed to stand. Its tail was covered in an iron net so as to keep it from throwing thorns, and the weight made the limb drag noisily across the wooden planks.

Stoick made an admirable dive toward the escapee, only for it to sidestep him with obvious ease. Then the bird-like dragon sprinted forward unhindered, right up the cliff and toward the village.

"Oh , Thor," muttered Gobber, "Drago wouldn't be happy 'bout _this_."

"Go after it!" Stoick commanded, but Astrid was already running. She dashed up the planks and into the village, following the dragon's trail of destruction. Several wives and elders stood outside their houses, looking shocked by the rampaging beast that had just stormed through.

"Which way?" she panted. The villagers, not needing to ask what she meant, all pointed in the same direction.

_It's going for the forest!_

Immediately Astrid starting sprinting again. She could hear numerous vikings following behind her, but she couldn't spare any time waiting for assistance. Things got trickier when she reached the trees, and Astrid was forced to slow down as she tried to pick up the dragon's trail. Good thing too, because, viking or no, she wasn't make to run down escaping dragons, and the chance to catch her breath was gratefully accepted.

For some time Astrid felt that she had lost the trail. Despite all those chains dangling off the dragon, there were no obvious marks on the ground that she could follow. Finally, right when she was about to give up, she spotted three odd-looking marks on a tree. They were vertical and perfectly lined, as if someone had hit a metal barrel ring against the trunk with enough force to cause dents.

Then it came to her. The dragon's iron muzzle! The beast must have stopped here and hit its head against the tree in a vain attempt to break the bond. Feeling triumphant, Astrid continued on the trail.

When she at last reached the dragon, she was tired and winded. The devil was lying on the ground, clawing at the muzzle with the only thing it had that wasn't chained: its feet. The nadder raised its head when she approached, looking at her with that bird-like head tilt. Nearly three yards away from the nadder, Astrid stopped, afraid that it might once again flee if she got any closer. She needed to find a way to secure the beast without startling it, and preferably, without getting a nasty whelp in the process.

Calling for help was out of the question. She could hear other vikings traipsing around the forest in noisy groups, and every time one of them made a loud enough sound, the dragon would jerked in that direction, looking as if it were about to jump up and run. Astrid took a tentative step forward, and instantly the dragon's head snapped toward her position.

"Come on," Astrid muttered. She could see one of the long chains sitting by the nadder's right foot. If she could just grab it, then she could make a noose around a tree strong enough to hold it until help arrived. But that was only _if_ she could reach it.

The dragon tensed, moving its feet into a good jump-and-run position and glaring at her like a hawk. "No, no, no," she whispered to the dragon. "It's ok. I won't hurt you…"

Regardless of her calming tone, the nadder didn't look particularly convinced, and she was forced to stop.

Astrid felt like stomping her foot in utter frustration, but controlled herself. How was she supposed to make this work? How could she get this...this _animal _to listen to her? The chain looked so far away now, and unless she could speak dragon, it would probably take a miracle to reach it.

Then, like a pebble sinking into a small pond, an idea hit her. She remembered sitting in the dragon hold, listening to the nadder make those strange, clicking hums, and how it had stopped when she had kicked the cage.

And so Astrid, out of pure exasperation, did something against everything she had been taught.

She hummed to the dragon.

_This is insane_, she growled to herself, embarrassed by the sounds she was making. But it appeared to work. Instantly, the dragon relaxed, cocking its head like it did when it was curious.

_Great, now you even know how the dragon feels. Next thing you know, you'll be riding it. _

She took another step. Nothing happened. The dragon only stared at her.

Ok, so maybe this would work after all. She took a couple more steps. Again, nothing. Reaching forward, she slid her hand across the ground, still humming to the huge beast. This close, Astrid could see every one of its spines, all shinny and as sharp as daggers. She had to keep telling herself to move as slowly as possible, instead of just grabbing the chain and getting away from the armored devil as fast as she could.

Her hand wrapped around the chain, and she began backing away. The nadder's pupils contracted at the sound, and it looked down at her hand.

_Slowly…slowly…_

At last, Astrid got far enough away to stand up straight again. The dragon looked as if her humming had put it to sleep, and she could hardly blame it. Running through the forest with several, huge iron clasps around its body, tail, and face couldn't have been very easy.

After tying the chain to a sturdy-looking tree, Astrid called out to the vikings searching the forest. It only took a minute from them to find her, and this time the nadder wasn't so lucky. A group of five men tackled it, wrapping the beast with even more chains and dragging it off to the holding pens.

The nadder shrieked in misery, and for a second Astrid felt a pang of guilt. Had it really been the right thing to do, re-catching the dragon? But then she shook her head and pushed the thought away. Of course it was. She was a viking, wasn't she? Catching and killing dragons were what vikings lived for.

"You did good today," said Gobber, clapping her on the shoulder. He had been one of the men combing forest, though she didn't imagine it had been very easy for him, with that peg leg and all. "Why don't you take the rest of the night off? Get some sleep. We'll take care of the rest here."

Astrid nodded, too tired to argue. Now that everything had died down, she suddenly realized how little sleep she had been getting lately, and fatigue etched dark lines under her eyes.

The setting sun cast long shadows across the ground as she made her way home, collapsing onto the bed as soon as she walked inside. Yet despite being so exhausted, Astrid's mind kept drifting to the light blue dragon, now sitting in a dark cell all alone. She couldn't stop thinking about how easily she had fallen asleep next to it, and now the eerie silence of her house was making her miss the dragon's soothing hum.

_Just shut up and go to sleep,_ she told herself firmly. _You're tried. Tomorrow everything will go back to normal._

And so Astrid continued to tell herself that over and over again until she finally drifted off – dreaming of little blue dragons that sat on her shoulder like birds and ate from her hands.

-o0o-

_**Thank you all for reading! I hope no one hates me from the last chapter, but, like I said before, things **_**will**_** get better! **_

_**Please review (its helps, believe me, it really does ;) and I hope to see you all next time! **_


	5. Part 1 - Toothless

Dragon's Hope, Part 1

Chapter 5:

Toothless

-o0o-

It hurt to cry.

I did cry at first – more than I would ever have liked to admit – but eventually every tear had the texture of acid, and burned unforgettable scars of white hot pain into my skull. The damage to my skin was bad enough, but nothing compared to my eyes.

At first I tried pressing snow against them, but it was only a temporary cure. Then the relief would transform into agony redoubled, and I found myself throwing up until my stomach cramped in painful knots.

Oh gods, I was so hopeless.

For so long I just lay there and clutched my face, begging fate that this would just be a terrible dream, and that tomorrow I would wake up and find my mother cooking me a charcoal breakfast, and then I could go flying over the wide open sea with Grayheart. I wanted to play tag with the baby dragons in the ice caves again, and see the sky and the sparkling ocean. But every time I tried to find them, the only thing that met my eyes was darkness, and the pain would remind me that that dream would never be anything more.

And so I stopped crying. I blocked out my emotions, forcing down everything that wanted to make itself known, and simply…stopped.

I don't know how long I waited there. Hours? Days? Did it really even matter? I drifted in and out of consciousness, yet as to how long I remained asleep each time, I could only guess. Eventually I could no longer stand the stench of death, and so I picked myself and began to walk.

The land is an endless void when you cannot see. Despite having grown up on this island and knowing every little knot and alcove, the war seemed to have transformed it into a desolate wasteland of ash and ice. I stumbled and fell so many times that I lost count, but every time I would simply pick myself up again and continue onward. Drago Bludvist had taken nearly everything, even the bodies of fallen dragons.

Sometime later, I became aware of the fact that I was on the south side of the island. The snow had given way to ash and burned out tree husks, and stumbling on this terrain was much easier. Broken branches lay in wait for me to trip and stab myself, and ash that was not quite finished burning singed my hands.

Finally, after tripping for the umpteenth time and sliding down what used to be a forest-covered hill, I gave up. I was starving and my body hurt like fire; every little scratch and bruise I gained from falling did nothing to improve that. Besides, what could I possibly do aside from wander until I died of starvation, or broke my neck from stumbling and falling? A blind person couldn't avenge Grayheart or my mother or even the alpha. And even if my sight returned, what then? Swim from this island? No, I just had to except the truth.

Drago had won.

-o0o-

The sun was setting when I heard the moan of pain. At first I thought it had come from me. It wouldn't have been a surprise, seeing how I felt at the moment. The reason I did not dismiss it, however, was because humans didn't moan like that.

But dragons did.

Pushing myself up, I leaned forward, trying to dispel the dizziness I felt. I had been lying there for most of the day – convinced that it would be my grave – and now the idea of moving made my body cry out in misery.

I staggered across the field of ash, searching for the source of that sound with my hands outstretched before me. It wasn't until I ran full into a pile of snow did I realize that the hunt was probably hopeless. How could a dragon still be alive in this mess? Not even the baby dragons had been spared from Drago's rampage, and I had a feeling that if I could somehow find my way up to the alcove where my mother and I used to call our home, I would find nothing but an empty, burglarized cave.

What was the point, anyway? Hadn't all hope left me when I decided to not get up again from that pile of ash? Why was I still trying?

The moan sounded again, this time much closer. On alert, I sat up, only to keel over when my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in several days. I felt sick to the core, but if there was still a dragon on this island, I could never die peacefully until I had done everything I could to help it.

Doing my best to ignore the pain, I shuffled forward in the direction the noise had come from. Now I could hear breathing, and the familiar sound made my knees weak. Oh, what I would give just to hear the babies sleeping again in their nests, or sit with Grayheart under the stars as she drifted off from a long day of flying. The thoughts of what used to be pressed on my heart, but I forced them down. Who knows what kind of damage I had done to my eyes already, and right now crying and injuring them further was the last thing I needed.

When I reached the dragon, it took everything within me not to simply give in to my body, curl up next to it, and fall asleep. But I knew that would be a one-way slumber, and I couldn't help this dragon if I died now. Sinking to my knees, I ran my hands along the length of its stretched-out body, trying to find any major wounds.

_If the injury is internal, then there is likely nothing I can do,_ I thought sadly, putting my ear against its chest. Nothing seemed to be amiss with its heart, but the breathing I could hear was pained and uneven, meaning something had to be wrong.

"Hey," I croaked, my voice unused and my throat sore from a lack of water, "what's wrong? Why aren't you waking up?"

The dragon moaned again, and I placed my hands on its head, once more searching for any type of affliction. It wasn't until I ran my hands along the side of its jaw did I feel something wet and sticky.

Now I could smell the blood, and wondered what had kept me from detecting it earlier. My fingers traced the blood until I reached its ears, and instantly I knew that there was nothing I could do for this dragon.

Sitting back, I sighed, letting all the air escape from my lungs. Even though the injury appeared to be internal, something didn't make sense. If this dragon had managed to damage it head enough to warrant bleeding from the ears, why was its heartbeat so regular and smooth? It was as if the damage wasn't to the brain per say, but to something within the ear.

_But what could damage a dragon's ear? _I thought, trying to put this mystery together. _Could a whispering death? No, I highly doubt one could be big enough or strong enough. So what, then? Unless…_

Feeling my body grow cold, I reached forward and felt the dragon's face. Its ears were small and faced backward. No spines or outer body armor. A wide, flat head reminiscent of a salamander.

Getting shakily to my feet, I backed up, staring at the darkness where I knew the beast rested. _Only an explosion could possibly cause an injury like this, meaning it has to be…_

Drago's pet dragon.

For a long time, nothing happened. I simply stood there, frozen on the spot as I listened to the dragon's labored breathing.

_What do I do…now?_

_You could just put it of its misery,_ part of me reasoned, but I knew that that action would be unwarranted and cruel. It was Drago who was at fault, not this dragon. Even so, the thought that I might be able to do some kind of act against him before I fell prey to starvation was terribly alluring.

"Aaaggghhh!" I howled, clutching my face and raising my anguish to the heavens. "Why?! What did I ever do to deserve this!?"

The only answer I gained was the echo of my own cries, and the sound made me feel alone and helpless. I sighed, letting my hands slide back down my face and fall at my sides. _Stupid bleeding heart…_

Sinking to my knees once again beside the injured creature, I tugged off my woolen shirt, wincing when the tattered remains pulled away from my burned skin. There wasn't much left of the fabric, but it was better than nothing. Besides, it wasn't like I needed it anyway.

Stripping it into pieces, I used half of it to wipe away the blood and press against the dragon's ears. The other half I tried together into a makeshift bandage and wrapped around his head. By the time I finished, I was panting and tired. Hunger clawed at my insides, and all I wanted to do was just lie down and fall asleep.

_Surely there is something else I can do_, I thought, trying to keep the dizziness at bay. Putting my hand against his snout, I asked again, "why aren't you waking up?" The skin under my fingers felt cold and frozen, and suddenly I realized what was wrong.

_Of course! He's lying in a pile of snow, for Thor's sake! Dragon's need warmth!_

It took longer than I would ever have liked to admit to get back onto my feet, but when I did, I trudged upward and toward the smell of ash. The burned forest was just that: burned. Nothing seemed to be left, but as I stumbled around, my hand brushed upon a fallen log that was still hot. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I pushed as hard as my abused body would allow. Nothing happened.

"Come on…" I pleaded, gritting my teeth. "Are you just gunna give up, huh? This is stupid, Hiccup! You're a dragon rider, right? You're supposed to be stronger than this. COME. ON!'

I gave one more mighty push, and the log groaned and shifted. The movement, no matter how small, gave me hope, and I renewed my efforts. Slowly, oh so slowly, I managed to move the fallen tree until it rolled down the small hill all on its own. I could hear the dragon grunt when the warm chunk of wood hit his back, but it didn't sound like I had hurt him. Staggering after it, a sudden wave of udder exhaustion washed over me, and my legs collapsed. Rolling through the snow, I came to an abrupt stop when my head slammed into the log. Pain shot through me like an arrow, and I struggled to breathe.

_I didn't…I didn't think my death would be this pathetic…_

I felt a single tear run down my cheek, but now the pain had all but disappeared as I felt myself slip from reality.

Sounds and sensations faded in and out. Nothing really seemed to make anymore sense. I heard an animalistic growl, then the sound of a dragon breathing heavily next to my ear.

_But that's impossible, because Drago took all the dragons… _

The crunch of snow and the flap of wings. Whatever it was that had been smelling me was gone now. In snuggled deeper against the log, feeling warm and relaxed. _Good, then maybe can get some sleep… _

The thing was back, sniffing at me again. I groaned, pushing it away with my hand. "Just a little longer, Grayheart. Too tired…"

Whatever it was didn't seem to like that answer very much, because it stepped on me. I gasped and sat up, suddenly wide awake. Everything around me was black, and could feel myself hyperventilating.

"Grayheart, where – h-how…"

Memories began to flitter back to me, and I started to shiver. _That's right. But if Grayheart is gone, then who…_

The dragon whined softly, and suddenly something wet and slimy was thrown onto my lap. I jumped, feeling at the thing with shaking fingers.

A fish?

I looked over to where the dragon was approximately standing. Or sitting . I couldn't tell which. "You…caught this for me?" No answer. "Thank you, I guess"

Not knowing exactly what to do, I took a bite of the fish.

The taste, though very delicious, made my stomach turn. I held a hand over my mouth, struggling not to hurl all over myself. Not only would that be unproductive, but the dragon might take it as in insult. Eater became easier once the first bite was down, and I found myself inhaling the fish. I never imagined something could taste so wonderful. It was like the gods themselves came down and handed me the meal.

When I was certain I would be sick if I tried to eat it anymore, I tossed the remains to the dragon and heard him snap it out of the air. After that I leaned back against the warm log and closed my eyes. The night fury, however, must have thought that I died, because he stuck his nose in my face and whined.

"'M fine," I mumbled, pushing him away. "Just resting."

Stubbornly, He refused to move until I opened my eyes, but even then he only backed up a few steps. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" I snapped. Suddenly all the anger I had been harboring for so long began to bubble to the surface, and I glared at the dragon's general direction. "You think that you can just bring me a fish, and everything is all better? Huh? Part of this is your fault, you stupid lizard! Get that through your head!"

Nothing changed. He was still just standing there, no doubt staring at me.

"Aaagghhh!" I flung my arms into the air, ignoring the dizziness that came over me. "Can't you just leave me alone! I've lost everything! Can't you let me die like the pathetic piece of useless trash that I am?!"

_That_ got a reaction, and the dragon back up another couple of steps, growling.

"That's right," I snarled. "Go back to Drago or the Alpha, or wherever else you stinking rouge dragons go. Just leave me alone and go on with your life."

To my utter distain, the night fury stubbornly refused to move. I even heard him sit and readjust his wings, acting as if nothing I said even mattered.

"What's wrong with you?!" I cried, ashamed to hear my own voice break. "Can't you hear me?!"

I didn't even realize what had come out of my mouth until after I'd said it, and suddenly all the fury emptied out of me in a rush, leaving me feeling sore and completely drained.

Of course. Now it all made sense.

"…You can't, can you?"

Unsurprisingly, I didn't get an answer.

A giggle abruptly burst from my lips, almost against my will. Pretty soon I found myself doubled over with hysterical laughter, completely unable to stop. "The Irony!" I nearly choked, whipping tears from my eyes. "A blind rider and a deaf dragon! What a pair we would make!"

My body and lungs felt like they were on fire, but I still couldn't stop. After a few minutes, the laughter turned to coughing and then I was crying. The tears stung, but this time it wasn't so horrible, and so I didn't force myself to stop. I cried and cried until the dragon nuzzled me with his nose, and then I looped my arms around his neck and cried some more. Everything felt so broken; I didn't know how I could ever put the pieces back together.

I didn't stop until the sobs died in my throat, and I was finally able to drift off into an exhausted, dreamless slumber.

-o0o-

The dragon was gone when I awoke. I should have figured he wouldn't stick around, with me trying to drive him off and all. The wood behind me was cold, and, starting to shiver with no shirt, I picked myself and began to search for something with a little more life in it. The wind picked up until it felt like it was trying to claw my skin off, but I just continued to shuffle forward blindly.

The scent of fire and ash was gone now, and soon it began to dawn on me that I was alone, blind, and lost in the middle of what was likely fall's first snowstorm. Shivering violently, I was contemplating what to do when suddenly the earth beneath me cracked.

No, not earth.

Ice.

_I'm on the ocean, _I realized, tying with all my might not to move a muscle. My heart was fluttering painfully, and it was hard to breathe. I tried shifting my weight slightly, just to see if I might be able to retrace my steps and get back to the mainland, but the ice moaned again. I only had a second to weigh my options when the ground gave off an ear-splitting cracked and disappeared.

I fell, only just getting a breath of air before I was encased in freezing water. Panic-stricken, I flailed helplessly, clawing at the ice all around me. My head was above water, but no matter how many times I gasped, the air just wouldn't stay in my lungs. A strangled "elp!" was all I could get out before the icy water closed over my head.

And then I was sinking.

I struggled at first, but pretty soon my air supply was depleted, and my limbs froze as if they were encased in ice.

_Why even try?_ I thought, closing my eyes. It didn't really make a difference, but it was the thought that counted. _At least now I don't have to go through the humiliation of starving to death. _

As soon as I stilled, everything seemed much more peaceful. The sound of the ocean filled my ears, making me relax as everything started to fade away.

Of course, the gods didn't seem to want to take it easy on me, because in the next instant a whoosh sounded above me, and I felt something grab my shoulder. Suddenly I was being pulled upward in a jerky rhythm. I burst from the ocean, and fear filled me when I realized that I still couldn't breathe. Whatever had grabbed me hauled us along the ice until I once again felt snow and solid ground beneath me. Throwing up lungfuls of saltwater, I gasped and coughed, feeling the freezing air press against my wet skin.

A whine sounded above me, and I raised my head. "It's you…" I panted, to delirious to say anything more competent. "Y-you h-h-heard me…" The dragon pressed his snout against my face, and I wrapped my arms around him once again, allowing him to half-fly, half-drag me back to the log where I had been resting earlier. I flopped to the ground, shivering fiercely. Seeing my affliction, the dragon breathed out and set fire to the wood once again, making me flinch and jump back.

It took some time, but I was finally able to thaw myself out, and both of us sat next to the fire. The dragon didn't do anything beside occasionally sniff at me. I suppose since he couldn't hear me breathing, smelling was the next best thing he could do to make sure I still lived.

"Hey," I muttered. Tiredness pulled at my eyes, but I wouldn't fall asleep now. Not until I got this off my chest. "I don't know if you were following me or what, but…thank you. I was ready to give up back there."

Knowing that the dragon couldn't hear me, I reached out and put my hand on his head. Maybe it wasn't as good as a heartfelt thank you, but the dragon seemed to think it was good enough. He licked me, and I winkled my nose, pushing his mouth away.

"Hey," I said, my eyes widening, "you don't have any teeth."

The dragon hummed, and a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "Ok Toothless, I know that this seems insane – really _really_ insane – and it won't be easy, but…maybe we can give this a shot."

The dragon licked me again.

"Ugh! Ok ok, enough with the kisses already!"

We stayed up late that night, leaning against each other and staring out over the invisible ocean. The pressure of what was to come weighed on my chest, and I knew this wasn't going to be easy. We would have to find a different way to communicate with each other, and I didn't even want to start thinking about flying. Avenging mine and Toothless's families was going to be hard, yet somehow, deep within myself, I knew that we could make this work.

Together.

-o0o-

_**Woohoo! I'm so amazed I got to this part of the story done so fast. Thank you guys so much for all the wonderful reviews and comments! It really does means a lot to me :') Just one more chapter and part one of this story will be finished. Thank you again for reading! Hope to see you soon!**_


	6. Part 1 - Downtime (Supposedly)

Dragon's Hope, Part 1

Chapter 6:

Downtime (Supposedly)

-o0o-

The satisfying _sheenk_ of the whetstone calmed Astrid, and she tried to let herself drown in the sound. Each sweep of her arm across the curve of her axe slowly created a healthier, sharper edge, and she imagined it sinking into Drago Bludvist's back.

It was thoughts like those that often helped to calm her nerves or give her some sense of purpose, but today it wasn't working. Every time she let herself lull into satisfactory trance, images of that accursed dragon would seep into her thoughts, and she would remember what she had been reduced into doing to catch the beast. It was shameful, and she felt that she would never live it down.

"Whoa, Astrid," said Gobber, placing a hand on her arm. Astrid hadn't realized she was increasing her pace until the one-handed man stopped her, and now her wrist hurt. "I think yer axe is sharp enough." The older viking pulled up a stool and sat down beside her with a tired sigh. He looked beat even though it wasn't even noon yet, and Astrid guessed that the new trainees were giving him trouble. "In fact, yer axe was sharp enough yesterday, and the day before that, too. Ya are starting to appear in my forge so much I think I might just have to starting charging ya. So what's the problem, hum? "

Astrid clenched and unclenched her fist. "I'm not sure," she lied.

"_Really_?" he asked, sounding suspicious.

Leaning back and releasing the death-grip on her axe, she let all her air out in one, long exhalation. "No, not really. I'm just…feeling pretty useless."

"Ah, well then, I think I know what the problem is."

"You do?"

Gobber got up and walked over to a weapon's rack, switching his hook-hand out for a hammer. "Of course I do. Ya must remember Astrid, that I was the one who trained ya. Ya have been so busy preparing for that big ol' battle, that now that it's over, ya have no idea what to do with yerself."

Astrid coughed, but a small smile had begun to form at the corners of her mouth. "You do know me, I guess."

"That's right. And do ya know what ya need?"

"Headache reliever?"

"No…" Gobber said, raising an eyebrow as if what he was about to say was the best thing in the world. "A vacation."

"A vacation."

"Yep, a vacation."

Astrid ran a hand over her face. "Since when do vikings take vacations?"

"Oh, come now! Everyone needs a vacation now and again. Ya know what ya should do?"

"Do enlighten me."

"A fishing trip! But not by yerself, oh no. Why not take someone with ya? Perhaps the new recruits would like a chance to get out of the arena."

Sitting back, Astrid rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Gobber, but you're not dumping those trouble-makers on me."

Gobber laughed. "Well, it was worth a shot."

Just then, the sound of tramping feet sounded from outside. "Speaking of trouble-makers…" Gobber singed, just before two forms shot through the open entrance and ran up to Gobber, who had just started heating his forge.

"Hey, Gobber, what are you doing in training today?" One asked, and Astrid could just make out the blurry image of a blond-haired boy hopping up and down in front of the smith. The second, a young girl with two dark braids, looked a little bit more reserved as she stood off to the side.

"Sorry kids," Gobber said, pulling out a hunk of metal from a bin to his right. "No training today. I have a project that needs working on."

"Awww!" The boy stopped bouncing, a disappointed look on his face.

"Oh, but don't ya worry," Gobber announced happily, "because Astrid here is going to take ya fishing."

"What?!"

Two young faces turned to look at the female viking. Maggot-Ear and Lily Liverheart were the more active trainees, though it was mostly Maggot-Ear, who had enough mischief in him to rival the twins. Lily, however, was a sweet brown-haired girl that liked to hang out with Maggot for some unfathomable reason.

"We have to go with _Astrid_?" the boy sneered, shooting death glares at her.

Astrid stood up and returned to favor – something the two of them were in the habit of doing. She thought it might have started when she'd caught him trying to fill Fishlegs's mug with manure water, though she supposed it could have begun before that. Since then the two had been in a rivalry about who-hated-who more, and right now Astrid was winning. "No, you are _not_."

Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Astrid turned to see Lily looking at her with barely concealed awe. "Um, miss Astrid?" she asked excitedly, "you went to the battle at the Alpha's nest, right? What was it like?"

"Yeah!" Maggot exclaimed, obviously forgetting that he hated Astrid. "Did you kill lots of dragons?"

She ground her teeth. "Um, no, I -"

"Did you see the Alphas? Were they huge?"

"Yes, they were, but-"

"What about the dragon-lovers? Did they really have horns growing out of their heads? And purple teeth? Wormhead told me that they had purple teeth."

_Maggot has gotten even more annoying since I've been gone,_ Astrid noted, rubbing the skin between her eyes.

"Hey, you ignoring me, grandma? I still-"

The Grandma jibe did it. Astrid punched Maggot in the face without even looking, sending little viking sprawling across the floor. It was immensely satisfying.

"That was for your big mouth," she snapped, glaring down at him. Maggot looked like he was trying to slay her with his eyes, but luckily knew better then to keep jabbering when she was hovering right over him. "Keep that up, and one day it could get you killed."

Then Astrid turned on her heel and pounded out of the forge. "Later, Gobber," she called without looking back. "I'm going to get in some practice."

Behind her, she could hear the smith chastising Maggot for his brash behavior, but Astrid didn't care. She stormed though the village, clutching her axe and muttering under her breath, her already sullen mood turned sour. No one could make her angry like stupid Maggot-Ear, not even Snotlout. Grandma?! Since when did he have the right to call her Grandma?! She was barely four years senior to him!

Without really knowing how, Astrid found herself in the forest, pounding on a tree with her axe. Normally this helped to ease her mood, but, like her thoughts about killing Drago, today it wasn't working.

"Agh!" she exclaimed, hitting the tree over and over again instead of just throwing her axe at it. "Stupid Maggot! Stupid Drago! Stupid, Stupid Dragon!"

After letting out as much steam as she could, Astrid flopped onto a green patch of forest, breathing hard and sweaty. For the first time in a while, she began wondering when she had started letting her emotions get hold of her so much, and a flash of alarm went through her.

_I've been acting like a child_, she realized_. I've been acting like a child ever since…they died._

It was not a very comforting thought.

Just then, the sound of shuffling and whispering met her ears, and Astrid felt her face fall into a flat, annoyed look. She sat up, and the noises stopped.

"I can hear you," she said, crossing her arms and glaring right at the spot where her attempted stalkers lurked. With lots of grumbling, Maggot-Ear and his trusty companion, Lily, made their way out of the underbrush.

"Look what you did!" Maggot exclaimed toward Lily, "you let her hear us!"

The poor girl bowed her head in shame. "Sorry…" she mumbled.

Astrid sighed. "Is there something you need? Or are you just trying to practice for the Dragon-Stalking Class which you obviously haven't taken yet?

Maggot bristled, but Lily was the one who spoke. "Well, um, we saw you stalk off, and wanted to apologize, that's all. We didn't mean to make you so upset."

Looking at the innocent twelve-your-old, Astrid felt her gaze soften. Drago had ordered that dragon training begin at an earlier age, but she still had a hard time believing that anyone would let this little girl into the arena. Maggot, like Astrid, had lost his parents in the first battle against Red Death, but no one knew who Lily's parents were. The village had found her in the forest as a toddler, and no one had had the heart to send her away. "It's alright Lily, but I don't think you should be the one apologizing."

Maggot snorted, as if to say "there's no way _I'm_ apologizing", but with one wide-eyed look from Lily, he grudgingly muttered a quick "sorry".

"And, um, miss Astrid?" asked Lily.

"Yes?"

"Is there really a Dragon-Stalking Class?"

Astrid smiled. "No, I just made that up."

The young girl looked alarmed. "Then how are we supposed to learn how to stalk dragons?"

"You don't, stupid," Maggot said, as if Lily should have already known this. "Vikings don't stalk dragons. We just chop their heads off, like this!"

Astrid watched as the trainee picked up her axe and threw it into the underbrush, completely missing the tree he had been aiming for. He then turned to her, smiling sheepishly. "Oops. He he. Um…I'll just go get that."

He ran off into the forest, and good thing, too, because Astrid had been about to pound his face into the dirt. She ground her teeth, wondering what kind of tortures she could do to the kid without damaging him too much.

Lily looked like she was about to cry. "I'm so sorry, miss Astrid. I'm sure he didn't mean to…"

Getting on one knee, Astrid met the girl's gaze. "Look, you don't have to keep apologizing for Maggot, ok? It was his fault, and he's the one who should bear the consequences."

The trainee nodded, but before she could say anything, the sound of a pained yell resonated from the direction Maggot had gone. Both girls turned in alarm, and Lily called out, "Maggot!"

"Come on," Astrid said, grabbing the younger girl's hand and fighting their way through the underbrush. "Hey kid! Where'd you go?"

Something moaned on their right, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Lily, however, scrambled behind a bush and Astrid followed, revealing a large hole into ground. Maggot was at the bottom, sitting up groggily besides what looked to be the entrance to a cave. Astrid's axe lay on the ground next to him.

"Maggot-Ear!" Lily exclaimed again, hovering at the cliff's edge. "What happened? Are you ok?"

The trainee glanced upward, his gaze dazed. Astrid guessed that he had hit his head on the way down. "Just stay there," she told him, testing the rocky edge to make sure she wouldn't fall as well. "I'm help you back up."

It took longer than Astrid had anticipated to get into the hole, mostly because she tried hard not to knock rocks onto the boy's head. When she finally got to the bottom, she could see a growing welt on Maggot's forehead, and he didn't look too excited about it.

She helped him to his feet and kept his steady while he stopped swaying. "I think you'll live. Come on. Let's get back to the village."

Nodding, Maggot touched the bump on his forehead and winced. Astrid was about to start herding him back up the cliff, when she heard a noise behind her.

It wasn't a dragon's growl, but it made her freeze as all the hairs on her back of her neck stood on end. Instantly she was on alert, grabbing her axe and whipping around so she could face whatever was behind her. A huge, black hole loomed before her, and Astrid realized that the cave opening was much bigger then it appeared up on top of the ridge. She peered into the darkness, looking for anything dangerous.

"What is it?" Maggot asked. He didn't look as if he had heard anything.

"Shhh," she said, cocking her head so it would be easier to listen. "…Do you hear that?"

The forest was quiet as the group listened. Lily shifted from her position up above them, and a single pebble rolled into the hole. Besides that, nothing made a sound, not even the birds.

Everything was silent.

Very, _very _silent.

"I'm going to go check it out," Astrid said slowly, walking forwards.

Maggot-Ear caught her arm. "But what if it's a glowworm's nest?" he whispered urgently, pulling at her. "We should go get Gobber. He'll know what to do."

She pulled her arm from his grasp. "If it's a glowworm's nest, then I'll be able to see them long before they see me."

Looking back, she pointed toward the kids, then at the ground. "You two," she hissed, "stay here." Then she walked into the hole and felt the darkness swallow her. Something inside her kept screaming that this was not a wise idea. In fact, it was probably the most un-Astrid-like thing she had ever done – but if felt as if her feet were moving without her consent. Something inside that pit was calling her forward, and that scared her more than then anything ever had before.

Everything was quiet as she turned several bends, holding her axe as if it were the only thing keeping her alive. This deep into the cave, the light was barely enough to see where she was stepping, and it only continued to grow darker.

Putting her hand out in front of her, Astrid's fingers brushed something cold and rugged.

Was that…a rope?

She grasped it, sliding her hand up and down the braided cord. _Did someone put this here?_ She wondered. The air felt thick and heavy, as if she were surrounded by a thick fog. Feeling forward with her foot, Astrid gasped when the ground suddenly disappeared past the rope. She held onto the cord, barely able to control her breathing. _Another hole, and from what I can hear, this one is much, much deeper._

Then she heard the sound again, and with a feeling of horror, she realized what it was.

_Breathing. And it's coming…from inside the pit._

Fear flashed through her like fire, and Astrid swallowed, slowly starting to back away. Nightmarish images of demonic dragons jumped into her mind, trying to rip apart her composure. It took all of her control not to run away from this place as fast as her body would allow.

Finally, after rounding a corner, Astrid felt it was safe to turn around and dash out of the cave, only to stifle a scream when something stood before her, blocking her path.

"Is everything alright?" asked a soft voice.

Astrid let out a pent up breath and lowered her axe. "I thought I told you to stay behind!" she hissed, her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest.

Lily looked deeper into the cave, but her concerned look didn't change. "Are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Astrid glanced in the direction Lily was looking, only to stop in confusion. A dozen steps behind her, and cave ended in a wall made of fallen stone. She walked slowly up to it and touched the rocks, trying to make sure they were real.

The tunnel, the pit, and whatever had been sleeping within it, was gone.

"What devilry is this…" she whispered.

Lily tugged at her arm. "Come on, miss Astrid. This cave is creepy. Let's take Maggot back to the village so he can feel better and we can go to dragon training tomorrow."

Astrid allowed herself to be dragged out of the cave, her head in a daze. She kept glancing backward, but the presence from earlier had disappeared, and the cave was now just that: a cave.

"What took you guys so long!" Maggot complained. He was sitting at the top of the ridge, so Lily must have helped him up. "I'm growing mold up here!"

"Coming!" Lily called, running up to join him.

Astrid reluctantly followed, barely registering her surroundings as she made her way up the hill. When she reached the top, she looked down again, but nothing had changed. The birds in the forest were singing cheerily once again, and everything seemed to be normal.

What…just happened?

-o0o-

Later that evening, Gobber found Astrid sitting by the ocean, watching the sunset as her feet dangled over the cliff that led to the docks.

"What, no sharpening yer axe?" he asked jokingly.

Astrid turned to look at him, just realizing he was there. Her mind had been deep in that underground tunnel all day, and it was hard to focus on anything else. She wondered if anyone would believe her if she told them that a simple little cave had had something very alive in it, or if she had just hallucinated the entire thing. "What?" she asked, frowning. "Oh…no, I guess not."

The older viking sat beside her. "You know, the kids told me what you did today, with helping Maggot and all, and I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you."

Astrid laughed, feeling the furthest form deserving his pride. "Me? But I didn't even _do_ anything."

"Oh, ya know that's not true, Astrid."

Pulling her legs up, she set her chin on her knees. Everything was quiet between them for the longest time, though Gobber didn't seem to mind.

"I miss them," Astrid finally said. The statement was simple, yet it was the truest thing she had ever said.

"I know," Gobber said softly, and Astrid was thrown back into her training days, when the one-legged man would tell them stories by fire-light, weaving fun tales about brave heroes or tragic ones about lovers separated by death. "But a viking must learn to keep moving forward. That was something I teach all my students. Do ya remember?"

Astrid nodded. How could she forget? That had been directly after losing her parents, and that lesson had been one of the few things that drove her to work so hard.

"And speaking of training," Gobber said, "I have a task for you, approved my Stoick himself."

She looked over at his wearily. "Yeah…what is it?"

"Astrid Hofferson, that is _you_, is hereby appointed to become my assistant in dragon training until she is deemed no longer needed."

"What!?" Astrid jumped to her feet, sputtering. "Assistant? In dragon training? But I can't…"

Gobber laughed. "Sorry, deary, but it's the chief's orders. Yer are going to be seeing much more of Maggot, Lily, and all the rest of 'um from now on."

Groaning, Astrid sat back down. "Just kill me now."

"Don't you worry," he said, patting her on the shoulder and winking. "Ya were feeling useless, remember? Well, now ya don't have to! Ya get to show all those wonderful, top-of-yer-class skills I taught ya to the younger generation." Gobber got up and stretched. "Well, I'm off to bed. Winter's approaching fast, and I've got feeling in my gut that this year ain't gunna be an easy one."

Astrid sighed, but the more she thought about it, the less repulsive the idea of teaching seemed. No, this winter was probably going to be her hardest, and she would have to give up fighting dragons for awhile, but…

She remembered the kids' expressions when she had spent time with them earlier that day, and a small, nearly invisible smile tugged at her lips.

"Hey, Gobber," she called behind her as fall's first snow began drifting lazily from the sky, "…what do you think about a Dragon-Stalking Class?"

-o0o-

_**Yay! I am happy to announce that part 1 of this story is finished! (insert party sounds and confetti here). Thank you everyone who made it this far. I hope you like the OCs. They may not seem like much now, but I promise you that they are extremely important to the story. **_

_**Hum….I wonder what Hiccup and Astrid will think of each other when they meet…Oh well, guess you'll have to find out next time!**_

_**P.S. the full size of my new cover-pic to Dragon's Hope can be viewed on my deviantart account under the name TheArtistThatNeverWas (I know, I know, but my normal name was too long :) Tell me if you like it!**_

_**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review, and I Hope to see you all next time!**_


	7. Part 2 - The One Who Knows Too much

Dragon's Hope, Part 2

Chapter 7:

The One Who Knows Too Much

-o0o-

The island of Hunrock; located southwest of Berk and part of the Crescent Island Chain. Known for its beauty, hot spring vacation spots, and its rare item trading market. All together, a nice place to live.

Or so it seemed. However, to a young – and, at the moment, pissed off – viking girl, this could have been the deserted mountain of the Red Death. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Hunrock. In fact, with the start of spring, this had be one of the most beautiful islands she had ever seen, but right at the moment Astrid wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.

"Ugh! Where _are_ they?"

The "they" she was so civilly referring to were her friends: Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were at the moment missing. They were supposed to have been back at the ship nearly half-an-hour ago, and Astrid wasn't in the habit of waiting, something her students at the dragon academy had learned early on. She paced the small dock their ship was tired to, holding her trusted ax.

"If they don't get their _butts_ back here in the next _twenty_ seconds, I'm gunna…UGH! They went after that dragon rumor, didn't they? I told them it was a stupid idea!"

She turned back to the island, glaring at the forest-covered hills and the beach-side markets as if it was their fault that her friends had decided to leave her behind and chaise after a phantom. A silver, _dragon_ phantom, according to the locals, something Drago Bludvist would be very interested in getting his hands on. What upset Astrid though wasn't that fact that her friends wanted to catch a dragon for Drago. She was upset because they had decided to completely ignore her conclusion that there was no evidence warranting a dragon living here, and went off on their own to find it.

"Morons."

Sighing, she leaned against one of the dock's posts. Pacing and growling at nobody was starting to get old, and she was hungry for the food Fishlegs was _supposed_ to be in charge of buying. A seagull landed on the post opposite hers and cocked its head.

"What?" she demanded at the little bird. It cawed at her, flapping its wings. "No, I am _not _going after them," she insisted stubbornly, trying to ignore the fact that she was talking to a bird. "Why are you still here? I said no!"

The gull settled itself onto the post and stared at her expectantly.

"Grah! Fine. Fine! I'll go look for them, ok? Happy?"

Astrid hung her ax on her belt and walked up the dock before the bird could give an answer. _Grrr…why do I have to be such a nice friend? _

The closest market was small and clean, with little close-nit booths dotting several dirt paths. Each merchant had at least one customer musing around their shops, but today didn't seem to be overly full. Green grass blossomed all around, and the late morning sun seemed to make the island mountain glisten. The surroundings and fresh air was almost enough to sweeten Astrid's mood, if it wasn't for the angry glances constantly directed at her. Everywhere she walked, people sneered and turned away, whispering and eyeing daggers at her back when she left. It was almost enough to make her want to set the whole place on fire.

Astrid knew that Drago's forces weren't popular with the common folk, but she had never imagined they hated them _this_ badly. And she didn't even serve him by choice!

Seeing someone who looked at least a little hospitable, Astrid approached and asked, "Have you seen a group of guys like me walk past here?"

The lady glanced nervously over at a young man sitting beside her booth carving a block of wood, then shook her head. "I just sell trinkets, nothing your kind would want. Business has been slow. I haven't seen anyone but the people who live here."

_She's lying._

Astrid looked over the boy sitting on the stool. Appearing to be around her age, his hair was a chaotic auburn, and he wore a worn blindfold that covered his eyes. His arms were also covered in wrapped bandages, and what little skin she could see of his upper body was marked and scared.

_Is she trying to protect him? _

"Thanks a lot," Astrid said curtly, turning on her heel and walking away. Swiftly jumping behind another booth when she thought it was safe, Astrid spied around the corner, but nothing seemed to be amiss about the two strangers. The boy continued to carve steadily at his project, and the woman went back to trying to coax browsers over to her booth.

_Something isn't right about this place,_ Astrid thought, glancing at the other merchants from her hiding spot. Looking back to the trinket-seller, she nearly gasped when she saw the young man with the blindfold facing her. _What? But I thought…can he see me?_

Composing herself, Astrid turned swiftly and walked the other direction, trying to look nonchalant about it. She continued her search for several more minutes, but nothing seemed to be suspicious or out of the ordinary about this place. Frustration clawed at her insides, along with a growing concern for her friends. Everything seemed so calm; you would never think that this market did anything more then sell and trade goods.

_This is so frustrating!_ Astrid growled to herself, pounding her fist on a post that marked the edge of an elongated cliff leading to the ocean. Ships bobbed up and down at the docks, but her ship was more to the west, parked securely behind several grassy hills.

Hearing the sound of heavy boots behind her, Astrid whipped around, hand resting on her ax. A group of three armed merchants were approaching, looking at her with hate in their eyes.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

One of the men – a muscle-bound meathead with a hook and chain hanging from his belt – crossed his arms. "We don't appreciate _vikings _snooping around these parts." He spit out the word vikings as if it was made of poison. "Your kind should go back to the ocean, and leave us normal, hard-working people out of Drago's war."

Tensing, she said, "I didn't come to cause trouble."

Another man, this one thinner with a bow and arrow, spit on the ground. "That's what they all say, before they slit yer wife's throat 'n the night and plunder everthing ya own. So ya see, we thought we'd teach one o' ya'll a good lesson, and the rest 'll see that we ain't no fools to be hagged."

Astrid tried not to growl. _What a bunch of cowards_. "So you intend to beat up one viking just to prove a point? Fine then. I'll take that challenge."

Quick as a nadder, Astrid whipped up her ax and sliced the tall man's bow in half before he could even blink. Twisting around while he stood stunned and holding the remains of his broken weapon, she kicked him in the chest, sending him flying. The second, however, was smarter then she gave him credit for. He caught her swing with his chain and twisted, yanking her ax from her hands. She tried to roll away, only to be caught by the third man and held with her arms behind her back.

"Let me go, you stupid thug!" she snarled, trying with all her might to pull out of his grip. The man with the hook and chain hung his weapon back onto his belt and picked up Astrid's ax, looking pleased with himself.

"Hold her. I'll teach the little tyrant a lesson." He said, grinning.

"Three men against one girl, huh? Seems fair."

The man whipped to his side at the voice, pointing Astrid's ax right into the face of…the blindfolded guy for earlier?

All of them blinked in unison, staring at the boy who appeared to be completely unperturbed about the ax pointed in his face. Finally, the man snarled, not removing the weapon. "What do you think you are doing in our business, boy? Go back to whatever battleground you crawled from and leave the savages to us."

The boy brought up a fingerless gloved hand, tapping the sharp point of her weapon cautiously. "This is sharp," he said. "You could really hurt someone with this if you're not careful."

The man opened his mouth to speak again – probably to say something like, "I could test how sharp it is on _you_, if you want," – but before he could, the boy grabbed the edges of the ax with his own two hand and twisted, yanking the weapon right out of the man's grip. He then spun it around and brought it up hard, hitting the man under the chin with the hilt. The thug's head snapped back and he fell to the ground like a sack of fish, groaning.

"Oops," blindfolded guy said, rubbing the back of his head and holding the ax gingerly, as if he didn't know what to do with it now. "I don't think it was supposed to be used like that."

Seeing an opportunity, Astrid kicked out, hitting the man holding her in the shins. He yelped, and she was able to break free from his grip. "Give me that!" she snapped, snatching her ax from the boy's grip and swinging it around. She hid the third man's head with the flat of her blade, producing an audible _crack_. The first man – the one who's bow was now only splinters in the dirt – ran at her, but she was able to use his momentum and throw him over her shoulder to the ground, where he lay, gasping.

All three of her attackers successfully sprawled out in the dirt, Astrid brushed the hair out of her eyes, breathing hard.

Someone to her right clapped, and she turned to see the boy still standing in the middle of the road, having not moved an inch. "Very impressive. I knew you were tougher then you looked."

Not in the mood for jokes, Astrid gritted her teeth. "I don't need your help, and I don't need your company. Go away."

"Not even if I could help you find your friends?"

Instantly, Astrid was on alert. She grabbed the front of the boy's shirt. "What do you know?" she insisted, lifting her ax threateningly even though it was probably useless. "I knew you and that woman were hiding something! Spill it!"

"Whoa!" he said, holding up his hands. "Take it easy. She has nothing to do with them, I swear. I just thought that I might be able to help."

This close, Astrid could see his scars clearly. They looked like burns from a fire, and besides his arms, his left collarbone and cheekbone were also marred. "I don't need your help. Besides, what can you do if you're-"

"Blind?" He wasn't smiling now.

Astrid shoved him back, and he barely caught himself before falling to the ground. "Like I said," she persisted, "I don't need your help."

With that, Astrid shoved past him and began walking down the road, back toward the way she had come. _Great, now I can just go back to wandering around and getting nowhere._

"Hey, wait for me!"

Astrid growled under her breath and kept walking. The blindfolded guy caught up, keeping pace with her easily. She ignored him for two more roads, before his presence finally got to her. "What do you _want_?" she retorted, halting in the middle of the street. The boy took three more steps before he realized she had stopped and turned toward her.

"I want to help."

She crossed her arms. "And what can _you_ do to help _me_?"

"You're here looking for the silver phantom, right? Well, if your friends were talking around the market, then I might know where they went to look for it."

Astrid perked up. "Really? Where?"

The stranger pointed toward the west side of the mountain. "There's a waterfall somewhere in that direction. People here say that the dragon sometimes visits it, but that's just a rumor. I could go with you, if you want."

"You would do that?" she asked, weary, "even if I'm a…"

The boy grinned, but something about the smile looked…wrong – forced. "Yeah. It would be better than sitting around here, anyway. Come on!" He grabbed her arm and started toward the mountain, only to stop and rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Umm…maybe you should lead."

They maneuvered around the booths until heavily-traversed dirt made way to lush glass and then forest earth. The boy let go of her arm almost instantly, looking slightly embarrassed.

"So, umm…" the boy said, trying to make conversation. "My name's Hiccup. And yours is…"

"Astrid." Curt and uninformative. Just because he was helping her, didn't mean they had to be buddies.

The boy went silent for awhile. Every now and then, Astrid would glace over at him, watching as he tilted his head, listening to everything that went on around them. She really wanted to ask how he had gotten so banged up, but figured that that would not only be a stupid question, but rude and insensitive as well. Besides, it wasn't like she cared anyway.

Hiccup stopped, and Astrid looked back at him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Shhh,"

She huffed. _Fine then, be rude about it._

"I can hear a stream," he said after a few moments. "I can also smell river moss. It's just left of us, in that direction."

He pointed, and Astrid followed his finger, toward the direction of the mountain. "I thought you lived here," she said. "Isn't that why you came? Because you know where we're going?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I've only been here a few weeks. I don't know these forests."

"You mean to tell me that I let a blind person, who's nearly as new to this place as I am, lead me into a forest with a potentially dangerous dragon running around? And neither of us knows where we're going?"

"Well, if you put it like that…"

Hiccup seemed to realize that Astrid was about two seconds away from punching him, because he raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "Look, I'm sorry, ok? The river is right over there. All we have to do is follow it, and we might find your friends."

Sighing, Astrid grabbed the boy's furred collar and yanked him in the direction he had pointed to earlier. "Fine, oh enlightened leader. Show the way, since you obviously know where you're going."

The two drifted into a moody silence after that. They continued along the not-so-trailish trail, and even though Hiccup did an impressive job at maneuvering though the trees he couldn't even _see_, their pace was slower then Astrid would have preferred. Everyone once in a while he would pause and face the forest, as if something were grabbing his attention, but when Astrid inquired upon it, he insisted it was nothing.

Finally, after what felt like forever, though it couldn't have been more than an hour, they reached the river. "There you go," said Hiccup, gesturing with both arms. "The river."

It couldn't have been more than two yards across, with small, sandy beaches on each side. Astrid looked as far as she could in either direction, but the waterfall, or her friends, were nowhere to be seen.

Something rustled in the bushes, and Hiccup snapped in head in the direction of the sound. Astrid quickly followed, but whatever had made the disturbance seemed to have disappeared. "Are you sure there's nothing out there?" she asked, brandishing her ax.

"…yes, I'm sure."

She glared at him. "Really? Because if you're lying to me…"

"There's nothing out there!" he snapped. Astrid took a step back, alarmed. She didn't think that this relaxd, happy guy could be so direct. "Look, I don't hear anything, alright? We're perfectly safe."

_There's something he's not telling me._ "…Alright. Let's keep going."

They began traveling upriver, following the river's blunt curves. Hiccup seemed to have an easier time walking along the sandy bands, but kept his head down, as if something were bothering him.

Too bad for her, she was about to find out what.

Hiccup stopped abruptly, and, not looking where she was going, Astrid nearly ran into him. "What is it?" she asked, before noticing the large waterfall before them, flanked on either side by an enormous pool. The trees were thick here, and little rays of sun sparkled down to the water.

Astrid climbed down the small ridge leading to the pool, sweeping her eyes over the entire clearing. Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins weren't in sight.

_Great, another dead end. _

"There're not here," she called up to Hiccup. "I'm going to check for any clues as to where they went."

Walking toward the waterfall, Astrid froze when she heard Hiccup speak up behind her.

"You don't have to do that."

Astrid turned back to him, a shiver running down her spine. That was not the voice of the boy who had happily agreed to help her on her quest to find her companions. It was older –more cold. "What do you mean?" she asked, weary. "I have to find my friends!"

"You don't have to…because I already know where they are."

Something moved in the forest. Something dark and reptilian. Cat-like green eyes peered from between two trees, and Astrid felt her blood run cold. It shifted, moving toward Hiccup. The dragon was pitch black, and stood behind the boy like a protective hound.

"What…" she asked, stunned and suddenly very afraid. She reached for her ax, but it was too late. A horde of men burst from the forest, and before Astrid had time to process what was happening, her ax was ripped away and her hands bound behind her back. Rough hands latched onto her arms. She struggled with all her might, but there were just too many of them. Astrid caught sight of small dragons on men's shoulders, and even one person riding a nadder.

Still not knowing what was going on, Astrid looked to Hiccup. He had walked down the short ridge, and one of his arms rested on the black dragon's head.

"A dragon-defender group," she hissed between gritted teeth. "I should have known. You-you tricked me! Why?"

He faced her. "You're a viking," he said, his voice sad and filled with hatred all at the same time. "I don't need another reason."

Then Hiccup turned away as they dragged her off, and he didn't turn back.

-o0o-

_**Alright! Time to start part 2! I felt as if Toothless was a little neglected in this chapter, but don't worry, because next time he'll get a lot more screen-time.**_

_**In case you are a bit confused: yes, a lot of time had passed since the last chapter. It is now spring, and time for some new beginnings!**_

_**Don't forget to tell me what you think about it! But don't be too hasty to assume the worst. Remember, there's always the next chapter ;) **_

_**Until next time!**_


	8. Part 2 - What Lies in the Night

Dragon's Hope, Part 2,

Chapter 8:

What Lies in the Night

-o0o-

A wet _kerplunk_ echoed from below and reverberated back up. It was a lonely sound, and seemed to betray the presence of damp walls all too clearly. Other sounds drifted around – a lot of other sounds – but not having to listen to them was just part of the perks. Besides that, the smell of mold was ever-present and repugnant. It was like a part of the air, if air smelled like rotting earth. Nothing seemed to say welcome home like the stench of mildew.

Home. The thought seemed stupid now. As if this could ever be my home.

I reached to my right and grabbed another pebble, tossing it into the water ten-something feet below. It sounded nearly identical to the one before it, only this time the stone clunked against the side of the pit before bouncing into the cave puddle.

Toothless groaned behind me and shifted in his sleep, moving his tail so that it rested against my left leg. This had become a habit of his, mainly because _I _had a bad habit of getting up to do things and leaving him there, sleeping. Those situations normal ended in a very angry night fury storming though the forest and setting people's pants on fire, so to say I was glad he had started physically keeping track of me would have been an understatement.

Shifting my thoughts away from the dragon, I threw another pebble into the water, only to sigh and stop myself from grabbing a forth. I was bored, and doing boring things to try and ease my boredom was boring. Dirk hadn't been particularly pleased with my last…job, and so now I was probably looking at several days sitting around, waiting for something to happen.

"Hiccup! Hey, Hiccup!" someone called from outside the cave. It sounded like Bolas, but I ignored the voice. Part of the perks, remember?

Toothless whined in his sleep. That was something he did a lot, especially since the sounds couldn't wake him up. They were peculiar noises, sometimes sad and tender, yet other times angry with just the tiniest hint of fear, as if he were back in the service of the dark Alpha. Every once in a while I would wake him up, but only if the nightmares got bad enough. Toothless never seemed to get enough sleep, so I tried not to disturb him whenever possible.

Little sleep was probably the repercussions of living in the wilderness for mouths, fighting off wild dragons and avoiding Drago's scouts, I supposed. A life like that didn't really leave room for relaxation.

The crunch of lose, damp stones under well-worn boots, coming closer. The person approaching was light on his feet, and put most of his weight onto his toes. Yep, definitely Bolas.

Leaning against Toothless, I put my hands behind my head. Any moment now…

"Hiccup! I've been calling ya for forever! Why didn't ya answer me? Huh?... And what are ya doing way down here? We abandoned this cave a while ago. It's depressing."

I shrugged. "Didn't hear you."

I could almost hear the lanky rebel's lip curl. "Yeah, wha-ever. Ignore me if ya want. But Dirk wants ta see ya, and I wouldn't ignore _him_ if I were in yer boots. Not if you want to get paid, that is."

"Ooo, scar-_ry_," I said, pushing myself off the stone ground, but the thought of getting paid had softened my mood somewhat. Toothless must have felt me move, because he hauled himself off the ground and produced a huge, no-doubt toothy yawn along with a stretch so powerful it could have crushed boulders. Nudging his tail with my foot, we both started toward the direction of Bolas, who was at the moment cursing a rock that had just managed to be in the path of his foot.

I found myself suppressing an ironic snicker. I liked caves. They weren't the most comfortable places, but the echo of my boots against the hard stone walls made it easy to navigate. Add in the fact that I was the only person around who could "see" in the dark, and they weren't really all that bad. Toothless liked them too, though more because of the fact that if it weren't for caves like this one, neither of us would have survived the winter.

The three of us immerged from the twists and turns of the tunnel only moments later. I could tell by the cool wind and the sound of the birds that it would be dust soon, even if I couldn't feel the sun against my skin because of the tall trees all around. Children, dragons, and dogs ran around freely, laughing and playing or fighting over a scrap of food. Other people were working or talking in small groups, but, like every time they saw me, many of their voices hushed to quiet whispers. It was enough to make my hair stand on end.

There was a man chopping firewood just to my left, and, as I listened, a young boy ran up to him excitedly.

"Hey Dad!" the child said breathlessly. "Dad, can I ride one of the nadders? Milry said her dad let her ride on one yesterday! Can I? Oh please, Dad?"

The man stopped his work. "Colum, Milry is several years older then you."

"But Dad-"

"No buts," the father said, starting up his work again. "It's too dangerous. Nadders are scary dragons, you know. Perhaps when you're older."

I sifted my attention away from the family members as the boy stalked off, not thinking to deeply about what had just transpired. Bolas was waiting impatiently for me to catch up, tapping his foot against the forest earth.

"Dirks' to the left," Bolas retorted shortly.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, rolling my eyes underneath the blindfold. I doubt a drowned viking could have missed Dirk's booming voice as he yelled at everyone within ten meters. All I had to do was walk over and wait for him to notice me.

"…And you, Halberd! Didn't I tell you three seconds ago to replace that supply tent!? Well, why isn't it fixed yet, Huh!? Tang, you carry firewood as slow as my grandmamy, and she died in a shipwreck twenty years ago! I swear, you're all just a bunch of useless, lily-livered crab-cakes!" The hulking man sung around. "And where is that brat!? Hilca-something? I asked for him an eternity ago! Where is he!? If he doesn't show up in half a second, I'll…oh, there you are. Why didn't you say something?!"

I didn't know whether to be mad, aloof, or to quake in my viking-style leather boots. Dirk, though, saved me the trouble of choosing.

"Finally chose to show your face, huh? Well maybe you can start doing a lick of work around here! There's a bucket of potatoes over yonder that you can peel. That is," he sneered. "If you _can_."

Clenching my fists, I tried to be patient. "Sir, Bolas said you were going to pay me for yesterday."

Dirk snorted. "Oh yeah, almost forgot about that." I heard the tinkling of coins, then a rough fist was shoved into my chest, depositing several worm chips of silver into my open hand. In rolled then around, counting them.

"You cheat!" I exclaimed, and Toothless shifted behind me, no doubt sensing my anger. "I earned thrice this!"

"What you _earned_," Dirk growled, "is what you got. Our group don't pay a chief's random for one viking female. You should feel lucky to be here at all, you ungrateful little brat! We could put you back were we found you, if you want! Well, what it'll it be, huh? Don't think you and your _partner _would want to leave, seeing that you're both a little _directionally challenged_."

I clenched my teeth, remembering days spent floating on a sailless craft in the middle of the desolate ocean, me blind and Toothless unable to hear the guiding calls of other dragons, a queen, or an Alpha. Being picked up by Dirk's ship, and held captive without food or water until I had managed to convince them I wasn't a spy for Drago. "We're not a _charity case_," I spat. "If you had tried to catch the girl, then it would have started a riot with the villagers! People could have gotten hurt!" _Well, people besides those ignorant, viking-fighter wannabes down by the docks… _

Dirk snorted. "Like our leader Shank cares about what happens to the vikings we catch." Then, in quiet voice not meant for me to hear, "they'll meet their end soon enough."

I stiffened, then leapt forward and grabbed Dirk's well-muscled arm as he began to walk away. "Wait, what did you mean-"

The man yanked his arm free, sending me sprawling into the dirt. "Know your place, little brat!" he snarled, poking me hard in the chest. Toothless snarled and took a step forward, but Dirk ignored him. "You're an outsider here, remember that! The only reason we didn't leave you to the fishes was because of your dragon here, and hardly that!" Then the older man stalked away, leaving me to steam.

I hated – _hated _– dragon-defender groups. My mother had always warned me about them. They believed dragons were a gift from Odin, instead of the viking's traditional idea that they were the offspring of Nidhogg and a demonic force meant to destroy all life on earth. This meant that the dragon-defenders revered and feared dragons more than anything else, treating them with care only because they thought Odin would smite them it they did not.

Still, working for them had to be better than getting caught by Drago's men, which at the moment consisted of all the major viking tribes.

"Stupid brute," I muttered. Toothless nudged my arm and whined. "It's ok," I told him, whishing for the millionth time that I could look him in the eye and reassure him that way. Toothless couldn't hear what I said, but over the long winter we had spent together I had discovered that he knew when I was talking and what tones I used. Whether he hadn't lost all his hearing, or he just felt the vibrations of my voice, I wasn't sure. But what I did know was that, when I really needed it, he would be there to listen.

Toothless helped me to my feet, where I stood, still brooding. "Dirk said that the vikings would meet their end…" I mused. _Not that I care about what happens to those barbarians, but just the way he said it... _

I thought about the girl from yesterday – how familiar her voice had sounded and how…well, _human_ she acted. She had seemed so concerned about her friends, the friends Dirk and his men had captured just a few hours before. At least now she had been reunited with her companions in the underground holding cells, but still…

I rolled the meager coins Shank's right-hand man had given me between my fingers, and they felt like chips of ice burning away at my skin. I had _sold_ a person for these coins.

A _person_.

Suddenly I threw the currency into the dirt. I didn't need Dirk's filthy money. I could get by with the little bit I earned by making and fixing things for the salesmen down by the docks.

Toothless sniffed at the silver chips, then at me. "I Think…" I said, placing a hand on his head, "that it's about time we find out what _really_ goes on within this group." I knew Shank, the mysterious leader, held a privet, confidential meeting with the core members inside his overly-large tent every night. Maybe if I listened in on it, I would be able to find some information.

"But if I'm going spying," I muttered to myself thoughtfully, "I'm gunna need another set of eyes…" A small smile fought its way to my lips. "And I think I might just know someone who would trade a pair of eyes for a ride on a dragon."

-o0o-

"This is so _awesome_!"

I sighed, trying for the one-hundredth time not to strangle the little boy sitting in front of me on Toothless's saddle. "Shhh," I whispered. "We're trying not be caught, remember? You wouldn't want your father to know your riding a dragon, would you?"

Colum slapped a hand over his mouth, signaling that he understood. I nearly sighed again, wondering how long it would last.

Toothless was crouched on top of a large hill within the outskirts of the dragon-defender's secret camp. Below us was Shank's tent, and we were waiting for the rest of the main encampment lights to go out.

"Look, Hiccup!" the boy said excitedly. "There's my dad and Tong, and- oops." He slapped the hand over his mouth again. "Sorry."

"It's ok," I told him quietly, not sure if he was apologetic about the "look" comment or for speaking out loud. "Just talk quietly and tell me what's going on."

"Ok!" Colum leaned forward and Toothless shifted, irritated, as the child leaned heavily on his neck. "I see a bunch of the village's men walking toward Shanks tent. There're all in a line and they have on these funny-looking robes. I didn't know my dad wore stuff like that."

I frowned. Robes? That didn't sound right. "What else do you see? Are all the lanterns out?"

"Umm…Yeah! Hehe! I can't believe Daddy doesn't know I'm not in bed! This is so much fun!"

"Sure kid. Just tell me when they're all inside, then we'll head down there."

Once Colum gave the signal, I nudged Toothless forward, putting my hands flat on his back to signify that we needed to be stealthy.

And boy, could Toothless be stealthy.

I couldn't hear a single twig break under the black dragon's feet as we headed for the tent. He was a shadow, and moved like a faint breath of wind. The loudest thing was Colum's heartbeat and his excited breathing, but I doubted anyone within the tent could possibly hear him.

When we reached the right side of the tent, I slid off Toothless and together we crouched in the dark. A strange sound was coming from inside, and I strained my ears to listen.

"What…what _is_ that?" I whispered to myself.

"What is what?" asked Colum, nearly falling off the dragon as he tried to lean closer.

I shoved him back up. "Shhh! I'm listening."

The young boy huffed, but stayed quiet as I pressed my ear to the thick fabric. It sounded like the humming of a dragon…

No, not humming.

It was a song. A song sung by the voices of dozens of people. It was hushed at first, but quickly grew in volume until it reverberated through the tent and all around us. The tone was dark and low, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Voices, all the same, deep pitch, blended together until it sounded like the hum of a huge dragon. The words were inconceivable and twisted, but also somehow eerily familiar.

"What is that?" Colum whispered. He sounded scared, and I didn't blame him one bit. Toothless growled and shifted nervously. I placed my hand on his side, and could feel his speeding heart beneath my fingertips.

I turned back to where the voice originated. "I don't think this is a simple meeting," I said darkly. If what I thought was right, it was something much, much worse.

For over half an hour we waited, quiet as the grave, until the song finally came to a close with one last, chilling note. Then the members began to walk out of tent in a single file. Once I heard the footsteps, I grabbed the boy and pulled him to the ground behind Toothless. Hopefully his dark scales would hide us from anyone looking back.

"Shank," said a heavy voice from just around the corner by the entrance to the tent. It was Dirk, and it sounded like he was speaking to the mysterious leader of the dragon-defenders.

"Shhh," said the person I presumed to be Shank. I had never met him face-to-face, but now I was glad we hadn't. His voice reminded me of slime and it sounded fragile, as if he were a rather skinny person. "I will not come with you tonight, Dirk. Tonight I go to the darkness, and that is where I shall remain until morning. And tomorrow at the full moon…yes, tomorrow we will give the sacrifices."

_Darkness? Sacrifices? What is _that_ supposed to mean?_

"Yes, master," said Dirk, sounding more respectful then I would have thought possible. The two men then parted ways – Dirk going in the direction of the others, while Shank went back inside the tent. There must have been an opening in the back, because shortly after I heard him walk into the forest, toward the opposite direction of the main camp body.

"Can we…" Colum whispered, his voice a near whine, "can we go back now? This is really creepy."

"Oh, come now," I said, trying to sound reassuring even though my gut was twisting into knots. "Does your father usually come back this early?"

"No. He likes to go drinking in Glaive's tent."

"Well alrighty then, let's just go look at one more thing, then we'll head back to your tent before you can say fish-sticks, ok?"

The boy made a motion with his head, then remembered that I couldn't see him and said, "ok."

As quietly as we could muster, the three of us snuck inside the tent, Colum walking softly beside me. The lanterns inside must have still been lit, because the young boy gasped in horror and froze in his tracks as soon as we entered. "Hiccup…it-it's…"

"What?" I hissed. "What is it?"

"It's really horrible, Hiccup. I-I can't…"

I grabbed his shoulders. "What is it, Colum? You have to tell me what it is you see!"

"A dragon," he finally gasped. "A big, black dragon. It's a statue, I think, but…oh Hiccup, I feel like it's looking right at me!"

I felt a chill run over my entire body. Secret meetings at night. The robes, the eerie song, and now this dragon statue. Everything was coming together to form a picture that nearly made me want to throw up.

These people weren't dragon-defenders! They were a cult! A group dedicated to the worship of something far more sinister then anything I could ever imagine.

"We need to leave," I said, herding a shaking Colum back outside. Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone running up to the tent from the direction of the forest. "Now!"

I picked up the young boy as if he were a girl and sprinted full speed outside. "Who goes there!" someone yelled, but I didn't stick around to find out who. Tossing my luggage onto Toothless's saddle, I loop my arms around his neck and then the dragon took off. It wasn't the most comfortable flying position, seeing as my entire body was being held up by my arms, but it would work for this flight.

A few seconds later, we landed, and I fell to the ground painfully. "Colum!" I said breathlessly. "Hey, Colum! You didn't fall off, did you?"

Silence for a moment, then, "…that was _awesome!_ Dad would never let me ride a dragon, but _fly_ on one? Best. Day. _Ever!_"

I felt myself smile, but it was quickly whipped away when I remembered the situation. "Colum, can you get home from here? I don't…" I blushed slightly, embarrassed. "I don't know where we are."

"Umm…yeah. I think so."

"Good, then go home and go to bed. I don't think anyone saw you, but just to be safe, don't tell anyone you were out, alright? No one can know you snuck out with me. Not even your friends."

"Ok…but Hiccup?"

"Yes? What's up, kid?"

"What are you going to do now?"

I reached out and patted the kid's head. "I'm going to leave this place. You see, there's something I need to do, and I've finally realized that I can't do it when I'm stuck here."

The boy sniffed. "Will I…will I ever see you again?"

Crouching down to the boy's level, I leaned forward and gave him an awkward hug. "I don't know Colum. If fate is kind, then maybe…but until then, will you do me a favor?" I felt him nod against my shoulder. "If anyone ever takes you into that tent with the dragon statue in it, don't listen to any of their crap, ok? Dragons are our friends and companions, not our Gods. Do you understand?"

Another nod. "Good." I pulled him away, gripping his shoulders. "Have a nice life, 'k kid? Hopefully I'll see you around."

Then I got up and turned, guiding Toothless away from the boy and, if I had it right, his home.

"Bye Hiccup!" the young boy called behind me. "I hope you get done whatever it is you have to do!"

_I hope so too, kid._ I thought. _I hope so too._

-o0o-

It was about a minute after our escape that I remembered something really important.

"Wait, didn't Shank say something about a sacrifice on the full moon?" Toothless didn't answer, but, then again, I didn't really need him to. "The full moon's tomorrow, huh? A sacrifice…"

Then the answer hit me like a nadder pouncing on a mouse, and I palmed my face. "_Carp_, Toothless. The _vikings._ I forgot about them…"

I sighed. Toothless whined and nudged my face with his snout. "Yeah. Yeah, I know! But-but-but they're _vikings_!"

The dragon repeated the action, only this time he licked me.

"Alright, fine! Fine, fine, fine! I'll go, but they better be grateful…"

I sighed again as we turned back toward the village filled with cultists who worshiped some strange demon dragon and sacrificed people to it.

_Why do I have to be such a _nice_ person…_

-o0o-

_**Yes, I know it has been a while, but like I said before, life is hard, I have no time, bla bla bla, I'm sure you don't want to hear my excuses. I'm going to try to publish a chapter every other week, but I can't make any promises.**_

_**I wanted to say that I really appreciate all the reviews you guys are giving! I'm really sorry that I don't have time to reply to them all, but just know that I treasure each and every one of them! Thank you so much, and keep reviewing!**_

_**See you all next time!**_


	9. Part 2 - In Fenrir's Prison

Dragon's Hope, Part 2

Chapter 9:

In Fenrir's Prison

-o0o-

The place where prisoners were held was an out of the way, underground stall-like area not far from the cave I used to hang out in. I would know, having had spent several days there myself not three weeks before.

The earth was firm and hard in this section of the village, and freshly-fallen pine needles crunched under my boots. The alarm had already been raised about my little spy session on the group's supposed "meeting", and I could hear men yelling in the distance. Lights were no doubt beginning to flicker into existence as people lighted lanterns and torches. It was very likely someone had already been by to warn the single man standing guard over the prisoners about the emergency, but from what I could tell, no one knew it was me.

Hidden in the bushes, I put a firm hand on Toothless's head and ordered him to stay where he was. "Keep a look out," I whispered. The dragon glanced at me curiously, but he seemed to get the message.

Stand guard. Use your eyes. Run in and bite the pants off the bad guys if you sense any trouble.

The last bit was pretty much assumed, because I knew he'd do that anyway.

_I really hope I don't regret this…_ I thought, gulping as I approached the large guard. I knew he was large because every time he shifted his weight, the man's leather boots and the stone beneath him would groan. He also had the smell of a person in desperate need of a bath, and I remembered this particular man from my own imprisonment. He hadn't been particularly nice.

"Who's out there?" He said, his voice tense and gruff.

I stepped into the open, holding my hands up in a peaceful gesture. "It's just me. Dirk ordered a check to be made on the prisoners, and to make sure you had extra protection in case the intruder came this way."

The man relaxed, as if thinking I wasn't any kind of threat. "Oh yeah? What did Dirk thank a little runt like you could do to help _me_, huh?"

"Just a precaution," I said, then forced myself to smirk faintly. "We wouldn't want anything to _happen_ to our…captives, now would we?"

_Please work. Please…._

"Ah," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice, if a rather disturbing one. "I see master Shank has shared with you the future."

"Yes, I have been…enlightened," I said, hoping to all the gods that I was saying the right thing. "It was Shank who ordered the prisoners be watched, so…"

"Oh, yes. Ah, Sorry." He turned around, and I heard the sound of the wooden door to the underground unit being unlatched.

And that's when I struck.

Taking one step forward, I summarized everything I knew about this man based on the placement of his voice and weight, and estimated his approximate height. Then I lashed out with my foot, snap-kicking him straight in the kidney.

The man gasped, but I didn't wait around for him to recover. He was groaning and coughing on his knees now, right where I needed him. Springing forward, I grabbed his neck with both my hands and forced his head lower. As the man's forehead was pushed toward ground, I brought my leg up and kneed him directly in the temple.

Ouch.

There was a loud _frumph_ as he hit the dirt, as limp as long-dead fish. _Wouldn't want to be him when he wakes up… And I really hope I didn't rupture his kidney._

The prison was warm and oddly quiet when I slipped inside. Dragons rustled around in their pens. Some snarled as I approached, while others simply shark back. They knew a dragon master when they saw one. I'd guessed it had something to do with our presence, but my mother always said it was something much more – something only dragons could detect. Yet lately I had noticed it changing. Dragons usually had very strong reactions to me, whether anger, fear, or reverence. It was strange, and made me feel as if I held some kind of important title within the dragon world.

"Hello?" I whispered into the dark. "Is anyone here?" _What was her name…Aldred? No, that's a boy's name. I think it was…_ "Astrid? You and your buddies here? Hello. Astrid…"

There was a rustle of hay, then something went flying past my ear, only missing me by a hairsbreadth. The thing – witch I assumed to be a rock or something equally hard – hit the wall behind me with a _thunk_, and dirt sprinkled from the ceiling.

"Whoa, whoa!" I said, scrambling back. "Talk about a rough greeting. Do vikings _always_ treat the people who want to save them like this?"

"SAVE!?"

Something else flew through the air, this time hitting me right in the nose.

_Yep, definitely a rock._

By now more of the viking gang was waking up. "What's up, Astrid?" asked a boy sleepily. Then, more awake, "Is there food?"

I stiffened at the voice. I hadn't actually met any of the vikings yet – only heard that Dirk and his men had captured a group of them – yet that voice…

No. It was nothing. Had to be.

"Its _him_," Astrid said between clenched teeth, and I could just imagine her nostrils flaring. "I swear, if you take one more step, and I'll pound you into the ground so hard your little dragon friends won't _ever _find your bones."

"Shhh!" I motioned with my hands for her to bring down the volume.

"You want me to be QUIET?!"

I almost slapped my forehead, but then one of the groupies spoke up. He sounded kinda nerdy. "Is that him, the guy who tricked you? Wow, he looks really…"

"Toothpicky?" suggested another, a guy who sounded like he spent his spare time staring into a lake at his own reflection. "Like you could use him to stir a fire? Or as a backscratcher? Or…"

"Ok, Ok. Gee, feelin' really loved over here." _…Am I really _that_ skinny?_

"LOVED!? We've been stuck in this filthy dragon stall for _DAYS_ thanks to you!"

"Look," I said, slightly exasperated, "I know what I did, but right now I'm here to _quietly_ get you out of here, ok?"

"Like we need your help," Astrid snapped.

"Well…" someone else said.

"Shut up, Ruffnut. He's nothing but a lying scumbag. We would be better choking on fishbones than accepting his help."

Gritting my teeth in frustration, I stormed forward until my forehead pressed against the bars of their cage. I wasn't sure how dark it was the small prison, but I was fairly certain they could see _that_. "Now you listen to me, _viking_," I spat out. "I really, really would rather not be here, helping all of you right now. But like you said, this is partially my fault and I'm sorry. I didn't know things would have turned out like this. So unless you want to have your throats slit like livestock, then I suggest you cooperate with me so we can _all_ get out of here alive and in one piece."

I guessed the part about being brutally murdered must have shut them up, because no one tried to snap my head off or punch me in the nose. Even the dragons had stopped their chittering.

Finally, the nerdy one spoke up. "What do you need to get us out?"

"Hang on, Fishlegs!" said the snotty-sounding one. "How do we know it's not a trick?"

"Well, I think that even a trick would be better than getting our throats slit, don't you think, Snotlout?"

"…Fine, whatever."

"Alright, um…what's your name?"

"Hiccup." I think I was starting to like this Fishlegs. At least he wasn't convinced I was some kind of backstabbing savage.

"Alright Hiccup, what do you need to get us out?"

"Well, um…" I stretched the back of my head sheepishly. "I kinda need to know where the door to your cell is first."

Snotlout snorted, but evidentially it was pretty dark in there, because no one questioned my reasoning. "It's to the left, moron," he said.

"Your left or my left?"

"What do _you_ think?

"Right. Your left then."

I walked toward where the door was supposed to be, pulling at the bars until I felt them move, as if they wanted to swing open. Then I slid my hands along the outside, searching for whatever was keeping the vikings locked up.

"Hey," said the other girl – Ruffnut, I think her name was. "If we're gunna make an escape, we might want to wake up Tuffnut."

"He's _still_ sleeping?" said Fishlegs.

"Yep. Hey, numbskull, wake up!" I heard the sound of someone body-slamming someone else, then someone else groaning in agony. "Ok, now he's awake."

My fingers brushed against something small attached to the cage. _Crap,_ I thought. It was a lock. I had hoped there would be a metal contraption attacked to a lever that I could pull, but I guess nothing was ever that easy. The key was probably with Shank, and I didn't think he would be very eager to hand it over to me, especially if he got to have a little chat with the guard I knocked out.

I started fumbling around on the ground, searching for something hard that I could hit the lock with. As I looked, the vikings inside the cage continued to chat. Astrid was still in a bad mood, especially after her friends choose to accept my help, and Tuffnut was still in pain from Ruffnut's rude awakening skills. Yet despite their chatting, they all fell silent at the sound of another human being waking around outside.

I felt my heart leap up into my throat, but before I could even consider what the consequences of a person approaching the cave could be, someone threw open the door to outside and stormed in.

"You!" a man snarled, and I felt my heart go from my throat to the pit of my stomach. It was the guard from outside. He was already awake.

Shooting forward and grabbing the front of my shirt, the man lifted me high up into the air. Not waiting for him to throw the first punch, I grasped his arm with both my hands and shot one foot out, attempting to kick him in the stomach.

Evidently, my height estimation was a little bit off, because I ended up hitting him a little...ah, well, _lower_.

Squeaking in a pitch I didn't know a man his size was capable of, he threw me across the room and against another cage. I might have felt a small tang a success if I wasn't gasping for breath.

_Where the heck is Toothless?_ I thought frantically. The vikings were yelling something at me, but it really hard to concentrate at the moment. _I know he's deaf, but really, he should have notice _something_ by now!_

Evidentially, the men needed a moment to recover along with myself, and so when he approached me again, I was more or less prepared.

Hearing the big man coming closer – which was easy, because at the moment he was grinding out fevery excruciatingly painful thing he was about to do to me – I crunched up like a spring. When he was nearly on me, I sprung forward with all my might, slamming into his midsection. The guard stumbled back several steps, but besides that it didn't seemed to have fazed him.

"Get off me, you little runt!" he shouted, grabbing the back of my shirt and trying to pull me off. I tried desperately to hold on, grabbing and clawing at his shirt.

Then I felt something clink beneath my fingers, and for a moment, everything froze. Evidentially, Shank trusted this man more then I had anticipated.

"I said Get. OFF!"

Pulling with all his might, the man managed to yank me free from his belt, and the thing that I was grabbing at came with me – flying out of my hand as I was jerked upward. I didn't even have enough time to miss it before a knee abruptly met my stomach, and I heaved, spittle flying from my mouth.

"Let's see how you like it, huh?"

Then everything exploded into chaos.

With a loud roar, Toothless came charging into the dragon prison, blowing up the door while he was at it. He was being chased by a large group of men, all hollering and trying to catch up to him.

The guard yelped as my dragon tackled him, and I fell to the ground, still gasping. There were a lot of noises as the men attempted pin down the elusive night fury, but it was very hard to piece the sounds together. Angry people yelled at one another, dragons snarled, vikings shouted and cursed, and someone stepped on my foot.

It might have been hilarious if I wasn't, at the moment, in apple amounts of pain and could see. But as it was, the confusion and noise only made me want to curl up into a ball and cover my ears. And I would have done that, too, if a loud voice hadn't rung out over the entire procession.

"Enough!"

Everyone froze. They knew that voice, as did I. It was chilling, and coated with slime.

Shank himself, the mysterious cult leader, had heard the chaos. I might have chuckled at the absurdity of the situation, if I wasn't about to die.

"What is going on here?" he asked, quiet and deadly-like.

"Well, sir, the intruder-"

"Nevermind. I can see everything I need to know."

Toothless glowed, low and deep, and I could hear his claws scrap against the stone floor as he pounced toward Shank.

He didn't get far.

All it took was an annoyed hiss from the leader, and Toothless hit the ground with a loud thump.

Icy tendrils found their way into my chest. "Toothless!" I wheezed, reaching toward him from my place on the ground. For so many, agonizing seconds, there was silence. He didn't move. Neither did my heart.

"Throw the dragon in with the others."

_No…not again…_

"And would someone silence that little brat, please?"

…_Not again! I can't lose someone again!_

"Come here, brat!"

Another blow to the stomach, and everything began to fade away…

…_Please…someone…not again…_

-o0o-

For the first time in her life, Astrid didn't know how to feel.

In the past, her emotions were always very simple, mainly because someone was constantly informing her how to feel. Anger, grief , frustration, hope. She had always felt those things when someone told her it was appropriate to.

But now, her instincts and the people around her were saying totally different things, and Astrid didn't know what to think.

_If only we knew things would turn out when we left on this little adventure,_ Astrid thought bitterly. It had been Fishlegs who first suggested that they all take a breather, and what was a better breather for a viking then chasing after a phantom dragon? They had all been very excited, agreeing that their separate jobs under Drago hadn't allowed them to spend much time together. It was supposed to be just a couple of weeks of sailing, but who could have known a dragon-defender group sat right under Drago's nose? And not just any dragon-defender group, but one that was ready and willing to come after the Dragon Master and all those who worked under him.

An adventure indeed.

Astrid watched as the men picked up the dark dragon and threw him inside another cage. It was the same one she had seen with Hiccup right before they captured her and threw her into this dragon den.

It had been a relief to see her friends alive and well, but, then again, it didn't look like the dragon-defenders were going to let them happily head home together.

It didn't really look like they were going home ever again.

Lanterns had been brought in, making the vikings squint after being in the dark for so long. Hiccup still lay on the ground – unconscious, it looked like. Astrid didn't really blame him. She would have probably conked out too if she had had the crud beaten out of her like that. But what she didn't get was why he was attacked in the first place. Yeah, he had been trying to break them out, but wasn't that just a ploy?

Was what he said – about having their throats slit open – really the truth?

"What should we do with the boy, Shank?" one of the men asked.

Astrid's head snapped up from the blind boy's unconscious body. Shank. He must be their leader, and the man that had felled the black dragon with only a wave of his hand. The sight still played in her mind, over and over, and Astrid found herself backing away from the front of the cage. Standing near the entrance to the cave, Shank stood at about the Stoick's height, though the two couldn't have been more different. While Stock was broad and muscular, this man was thinner than a weed and half as appealing. His nose was hocked over a thin mouth, and he was bald say for two very thick eyebrows . Yet despite his gaunt appearance, the very sight of him made Astrid's hair stand on end. Seeing a man take down a ferocious dragon without lifting a finger could do that.

_Could this man have the same abilities over dragons as Drago?_

The man's black eyes swept over Hiccup. "Does it really matter?" he said, his voice slick. "Wait…Dirk, was this the boy you mentioned before?"

"The disabled one, yes."

"Hmm…" The thin man's face grew from irritated to interested as he thought. "We shall bring the traitor with us. Grab the boy, Dirk, and then let us go."

The man Astrid presumed to be Dirk picked Hiccup up by the back of his shirt and threw him over his shoulder. Then he turned and looked at the caged vikings. "You got lucky this time, brats, but just you wait. Shank isn't done with you yet."

The leader and his men walked out, taking the light with them. For nearly a minute, everything was silent, then Astrid let out howl of rage and smashed his fist into the cave wall. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Everything about this situation was just so wrong!

It hurt. A lot.

"…are you ok?" Fishlegs asked as blood dripped from her knuckles.

"Well_, I'm _not ok," said Snotlout, sitting sulkily onto the floor. "This whole vacation sucks! "

"I wasn't talking to you. Astrid?"

Astrid sighed and leaned against the bars of their cage, pressing her forehead into cold metal. "I'll be ok. It's just…I thought he was a jerk, and then he come and rescues us, only to get the snot beaten out of him."

Tuffnut sat down in the hay next to Snotlout. "Yeah, total bummer. With that guy, I mean. Hey, when do you think they're going to feed us?"

"Yeah, food sounds really good," Ruffnut agreed.

Astrid resisted the urge to slap her forehead. _Speak your mind, and they'll speak there's…_

Just then someone walked past outside, lightening up the chamber from under the door. Astrid let her gaze wander, but her attention shifted when something on the floor outside their cage glittered.

Astrid walked as close as she could get to where the little flash of light had been. It was dark again, but not pitch black, and she could see something there.

Trying and failing to reach the object, she called over Ruffnut from where the twin sat, musing over how wonderful the food back home was. "What is it?" she asked, irritated.

Astrid pointed to the object. "There something over there on the ground. You think you can reach it?"

The twin shrugged. "Sure."

And, just like that, she reached though the bars and brought back something heavy and clanky.

Everyone froze, speechless. Ruffnut stared at the thing in her hands like she couldn't believe what she was holding. "Is that…" asked Fishlegs.

Astrid swallowed. "Yeah. Looks like Hiccup was closer to busting us out than I'd thought."

In her hands, glinting under the sparse light, was a ring of brass keys.

In that instant everyone was crowded around, grabbing at it. "Let me see it!" Snotlout said, snatching the keys.

"I had it fist!" said the Ruffnut, snatching it back.

"You? You'll just lose it!" exclaimed Tuffnut, "Give it here!"

Before anyone knew what was happening, all three were wrestling on the floor, hay and dirt flying in all directions. Poor Fishlegs tried to break them up, only to get pulled into the living, breathing mass of angry teenagers.

Meanwhile, Astrid picked up the keys from where they had been thrown in all the commotion and unlocked the cage.

"Ahem," she said, swinging the door open with a loud creak. The fight instantly ceased, and it looked as if the four of them were trying to tie themselves into a knot. Fishlegs, of course, was on the bottom, and looked just about as miserable as anyone would in his situation.

She went over to him and helped to his feet, while everyone else scrambled out of the cage excitedly, yelling something about beating up the guard outside. "How do you think the keys got there?" she asked him.

"Don't know. They probably got misplaced while everyone was trying to catch that dragon."

Astrid nodded as they walked out of the cage.

"So…" Fishlegs continued, "What do we do now?"

Astrid snorted, listening as the twins and Snotlout as they beat the crud out of the man unfortunate enough to be watching over them. "We get our butts the heck out of here, that's what."

"And Hiccup?"

She turned away from him. "What _about _Hiccup?"

"Well…" Fishlegs nervously tapped his fingers together. "What I mean is…Are we going to rescue him?"

Astrid felt her heart clench. She had been asking herself that same question ever since she got her hands on the keys. Hiccup had tricked her, yes – which she was still mad about – but he had also come back for them in order to save their lives. Now _his_ life was in danger, and they were the only ones able to help.

_Unless…_

Instead of answering him, Astrid turned to another cage on her right.

Two cat-like, reptilian eyes gleamed from the darkness, meeting her stare defiantly. She held onto the gaze for several seconds, then looked down at the keys still clutched in her fist.

"That's a really good question, Fishlegs."

_A really, really good question… _

-o0o-

_**Woo-hoo! I can't believe I actually got this out on time. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited (I know people say this all the time, but it really does help me want to get chapters out faster :)**_

_**Guess what guys? I'm in Hawaii! Well technically I'm on the plane right now, but I will most likely be there when you read this. However, that also means that the next chapter might be a little late. **_

_**Thanks again guys! Don't forget to review, and see you all next time!**_


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